Contemporary a cappella in its current state feels like its hitting a certain progressive peak, be it production, style, or general artistry. Given this, it is beneficial to sometimes reminisce on what the genre used to be. Everything Must Bro! fills me with nostalgia that only a cappella from the early 2000s and 2010s can do. While production is high and comparable to recent collegiate releases, other noticeable elements display music of a time now past. The EP has standout moments, including one track that is a cut above the rest, but as a whole, the project still needs refining to be on par with the progressiveness of modern releases.

Let me be honest, the Dartmouth Brovertones have real talent. There is a lot that works on Everything Must Bro!. Blend, energy, attention to production, and conviction are qualities that cannot be ignored when listening to the group sing.

The project’s artistic choices hold the EP back more than anything. Both Cry Me A River and Vampire are fun songs to listen to. However, excluding production, both tracks sound as if they were released a decade ago. There is simplicity in syllable selection, repetitive arranging structure, and common ideas often heard in many other groups.

The Brovertones have the vocal capabilities to sing advanced arrangements as demonstrated in their chord execution, dynamic flexibility, and polished backing sound. The struggle is that much of this is masked behind music that audibly struggles to excite the listener. Production sounds high-caliber, yet the stylistic choices feel bland and unoriginal at times. 

On a positive note, all three soloists on the first two tracks have the emotional conviction and range to deliver authentic lead performances.

The final two songs on Everything Must Bro! give the Brovertones a more positive outlook. 

Happier Than Ever is refreshingly fervent, displaying a wide range of creativity. What starts as a seemingly classic arrangement of a modern song transforms into an edgy, passion-driven performance that gives the group new life. The song is one of the better plot twists I have heard in music as of late as the Brovertones go from a sultry ballad to channeling their inner rockers on a track that is loaded with cool effects, but more importantly, true zeal to be different.

The crowning moment of the EP for me is Yellow. For a track I have heard covered dozens of times, the group brings something new. Perhaps it is the wonderful artistry in creating a rich ambiance with their voices. Or the gentle yet commanding tone they collectively embody. Whatever it is, this song exudes emotion like nothing else on the EP, creating a divine experience that is heard and deeply felt. The song lives at the cross-section of pristine production and exuberant optimism and succeeds on all levels.

Everything Must Bro! is a mixed bag. It struggles to liftoff, but when it does, it soars. Pair the group’s skills with a bit more forward-thinking and you will have a recipe for success.

Every single year, I hear new collegiate groups. Usually, I look them up and find they're some exciting new group that either started in the past few years or caught a new wave of life that brought them into the spotlight. I was excited thinking the Brovertones (one of my new favorite group names) were another such group. Unfortunately, this group is about as old as I am. I started listening to this album and found why I've never heard of them. Everything Must Bro! does very little to highlight the group, resulting in a sound that is incredibly mediocre and uninteresting.

Cry Me A River starts us off with what I would consider a "classic" contemporary a cappella sound. This piece is almost a direct transcription of the Justin Timberlake original. There's nothing necessarily wrong with this method of song performance. The challenge is to make voices as interesting as the synthesizers and digital effects originally used. The easiest way to do that is with microdynamics. Sustained notes need direction. Simple swells and decay can go a long way. The Brovertones don't really give us much direction with all these held notes. They remain very stagnant. This piece needs to have all sorts of dynamic levels, both large scale and small. Instead, we have two dynamics: on and off. Aside from a very well-placed "bro" in the background during the bridge, there's not much excitement. Nothing bad, just nothing I would actively seek out.

Yellow gives us hints of what the Brovertones could be capable of. In the opening seconds, we get some crisp and clear cascading bell tones to open the piece. I was excited to think we might get some cool imaginative things, but instead we shift back seconds later to very rhythmic "dah dah dah"s dominating the backing track. There is very little counterplay between the different rhythms. The arrangement just feels empty. This continues into Happier Than Ever. There are so many blocky chords. Every rhythm — be it percussive or glassy sustains — exists in its own bubble. This is problematic, because there is nothing to keep the listener's attention. There are gaps between the rhythmic patterns and nothing to keep the motion of the sustains. The use of both simultaneously would help fill the spaces in between and create a whole soundscape, but we don't have it here. The result is kinda lifeless and lackluster.

For all the criticisms I provided, there's nothing that can't be easily remedied. The group's tone and balance are very solid. It's easy to make sure everyone is singing the same dynamic in the studio, but it's only through the group work that everyone sings the same "ah" vowel. The soloists are solid, but they could do more to make the solo their own rather than a copy of the original artist. The fundamentals are here, and now the singers need to grow them. This group feels like a lump of clay. Is has all the potential to be molded, but needs a capable set of hands and an artistic vision for it to really take shape.

Everything about the Dartmouth Brovertones's brand evokes bravado. It spans the cute name Everything Must Bro! (as well as some of their previous records), the choice of covered artists on the EP, and the core sound of the group. And in some ways, that's very charming. In other ways, more work needs to be done to add dimension and layers to that brand for it to really shine.

The EP kicks off with Cry Me A River, with crisp arpeggiations and a sharp, bright sound that you'd expect from a Justin Timberlake cover. The main growing point of the album, however, is also quick to set in: it's static. Dynamics, color, and texture all start in one place and hardly change after. This means a lot of the flavor of the original song gets lost, and it means that there is a disconnect between when the soloist uses a more delicate and vulnerable falsetto and the rest of the group does not react. If a song doesn't change or evolve as it progresses, it gives no reason to listen past the first thirty seconds. So Cry Me A River sounds good, but to show its strength, it needs to sound good and develop into something more.

This issue is at its worst on Vampire. Olivia Rodrigo's original song is so full of edge and cuts deeper and deeper the longer it runs, so it becomes even more important that a cover retains that. The Brovertones, once again, sound solid as a rock when singing but also come across as completely unaware of the lyrics or arc of the song. This huge disparity makes it extra noticeable here.

Yellow has the opportunity to cheat a bit, which it thankfully does. The song can fall back a little more on laying down a gentle and warm backing, which the group does do. And soloist Rohit Garmiella adds a soothing lead that keeps the track moving. It's not nearly where I want the sound to be ideally, but it's not struggling under its homogeneity, either.

Happier Than Ever lies somewhere in between the other tracks. On one hand, the Billie Eilish original relies just as heavily on developing edge and fury as Vampire, and The Brovertones have the same issue of solid core sound that doesn't develop. On the other hand, the arrangement follows the movement of the original with strong choices that keep the sound changing. Arranger Sam Laskin could take the edge much further later in the song but did add some great early vulnerable contrast during the first act compared to the rest. So Happier Than Ever has arguably the most to live up to on the EP, but the Brovertones are pulling a good amount more weight, too.

A quick tangent that does not affect score, but is worth mentioning: the liner notes for the EP definitely need some work. Crediting the original performing artist is fine, but not necessary. Crediting the original songwriters, on the other hand, is necessary. The Dartmouth Brovertones certainly aren't the first collegiate a cappella group to make this error, but it is worth mentioning every time.

Everything Must Bro! has plenty of confidence and intended fun factor. The next step is to invest in nuanced sound, more attention to detail, and more attention to musical development and arc. There's no reason why the Brovertones can't evolve to incorporate these elements and really let their core fun sound shine. In the meantime, this EP is a bite-sized bit of fun, with limits on just how fun it can be.