Not that I've anything against the snow. "I don't drive so I don't care," as Half Man Half Biscuit once said, but the contrary edge of Evergreen gains an extra bit of laconic surrealism. Haven't Been Yourself is a succulent cut of barely-played guitar, barely registered backing vocals and tempo-changes that warm like rays of sun on freezing days.

The Pavement influence is blatant, but even so it never grates. Singer Caleb Pate excels in that Malkmus-esque vocal inflection to weave a trail of hazy shimmer that takes you right in, and the B-side Sufferbus has a way with downbeat electronica that conjures a quintessential lopsided magic. From San Fransico with love and complexity, Seventeen Evergreen are true contenders.

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