Never Hill are most definitely trying; they’ve already been rebranded, they were once Oceans Above, and now reissued, June’s ‘Epilogue’ picking up a couple of stripped down bonus tracks for its second shot at glory.

Opening track ‘Forgive Me’ is a fair indication of why all the effort was worth it – it’s an epic sounding slab of radio friendly alternative rock with a big chorus and some sing-along “whoa oh oh”s. There’s nothing new here, but it is professionally done and pretty damn good. ‘Fire’ is a similarly competent upbeat rocker, while a guest vocal from Eleni Drake adds depth to ‘Starting Line’. These are the two tracks getting the acoustic treatment for the bonus, and while they are pleasant enough, they basically become pop songs, losing their original bite.

Talking of pop, ‘Colours’ is a well structured atmospheric pop song in the vein of One Republic, while ‘Stay Away’ and ‘Afraid of the Dark’ are both hook-filled and radio-ready, though they may struggle to stand out from the crowd.

All in all, ‘Epilogue’ is highly listenable and the band look like a good investment; but the question is, how much of a pop band do they want to be?

3.5/5

‘Epilogue (Deluxe Ediion)’ EP by Never Hill is out now.

Never Hill links: Website|Facebook|Twitter

Words by Edward Layland (@EdwardLayland)