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The Long Winters
The Long Winters are progenitors of wonderfully brainy, refreshing West Coast pop with a heavy dash of REM. John Roderick of the Long Winters is one of those oblique storytellers, crafting his tales with tiny tidbits of humor and tender details that would be ignored by a less talented songwriter. His songs are filled with non sequitors ("Washington's on the one"), narrators talking out loud, snippets of conversation. These pieces are bolstered, too, by his weaving in of tiny, joyful moments, like the wind blowing across the cheek of a hospital patient in a coma, missing a former girlfriend who used to steal the blankets, or the grounding a song's plot in the taste of limes. Nevermind what the song is really about, although it's probably about a girl, substance abuse, a relationship gone sour ("She never says 'I love you' until I say 'I love you,' like we're exchanging hostages"), and some past regrets. Then again, I suppose a man who's walked across the whole of Europe over five months is allowed some eccentricities.
But let me back up one moment here. The charm of a Long Winters song is thus: an unnamed narrator holds his cards close to his chest, never really telling the truth about what happened, leaving behind half-explanations and cryptic turns of phrase, and letting you in just close enough to invade your personal space, and then the bastard charms his way out of the conversation, bumming a smoke and a twenty dollar bill, with only as much as a thank-you-and-see-you-later. But in an instant, the smooth talker vanishes and lets you in on something terrible. I mean, what other frontman would go and reproduce angry letters from ex-girlfriends in the liner notes? And then to make matters even more complicated, he follows things up a one-two punch of a grin-inducing chorus and some handclaps, elevating a formerly good pop from to a great, memorable one that invades your senses. In short, expect the unexpected from the Long Winters.
One of the most versatile indie pop bands on the circuit, the mood on When I Pretend to Fall, their last full-length, ranges from exuberant to wistful to somber, and back again. The Long Winters are kings of catchy melodies, sunny multi-part harmonies, and the clever anti-love song, but always capped with a clear, glossy pop sheen. Somehow the combination of bright keyboards, lazy horns, and lush orchestration is more than the sum of the parts, and the songs are more than than a brisk autumn walk. On stage, The Long Winters are consummate showmen, and renowned for grace in handling hecklers and wicked bantering style, qualities usually absent in indie rock.
The band have been working on a follow-up to 2003's When I Pretend to Fall (one of my top albums from that year) for ages now, i.e., Mr. Roderick has been holed up in a non-descript house in Seattle, tinkering for months and months, while also bumming around on the campus of the University of Washington, Seattle. But from what we, the public, have gotten to hear from the most recent Ultimatum EP, I predict the results will be very promising, as the band expands their palate. Most notable is the emotional devastation of "The Commander Thinks Aloud," an ode to the astronauts in a NASA shuttle disaster, a song that breaks my heart every time.
The Long Winters - Car Parts
The Long Winters - Medicine Cabinet Pirate
The Long Winters - It'll Be a Breeze
The Long Winters - Stupid
The Long Winters - The Commander Thinks Aloud
The Long Winters' official site. Buy the Ultimatum EP from Amazon or iTunes Music Store. And why not grab When I Pretend to Fall from Amazon or iTunes Music Store while you're at it?
Posted by Queen of the Front Row at 02.05.06 at 12:54 AM
Comments
Cool feature, if I didn't already love this band, I would want to check them out now. Have fun on SXSW, I will make do with enjoying the event through cool blogs like this.
Posted by: Liesbeth at 02.15.06 at 1:55 PM
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