The Long Winters - Putting The Days To Bed :: Review hiiiiiii.

you all know The Long Winters, correct? no introductions needed? good. this is business. review time.



their third LP is coming out on Barsuk on July 25th (note: i have a horrible habit of spelling it "Barsuck," which is a rather embarrassing and hilarious mix up).

it's a fantastic release. my personal opinion is that it surpasses the previous two ("gasp, how can you say such a thing, we adored When I Pretend To Fall with every string of our hearts and to our viscous, blood-and-guts cores, to the very fiber of our lungs and the capacity of our ribcages..") - um, yeah. well. this one is better.

Putting The Days To Bed flows. it just... flows. it pops open the top and pours it on you - smoothly, suavely, cooly. you don't even know it but by the time Sky Is Open breaks into that eye-opening solo, you've been rocking out for (er, wince, math) almost thirteen minutes - and you haven't even blinked. you haven't cringed, not once, not even at the hyper-repetitive chorus of Teaspoon (you know to expect that from John Roderick) (and what's that i hear? Bostones-y horns? yes?). especially not at the highlighted piano in Hindsight (chills at "bailing water, i'm bailing water, because i like the shape of the boat" - oh, man). yep. it all goes down so easily.

past track five, of course, it starts to dawn on you that you're being taken over. it's been too long to do anything about it; you're chest-deep in the thick, syrupy stuff of "extensive months after the fall season" and you're wading, a little nervous at the prospect of ever getting out. "it was that damn acoustic opening of Honest," you think to yourself, "and that slide of the steel guitar, and Roderick's pleading chorus.." but it's no use. by the time Clouds comes tinkering in with thankfully gentler vocals and a latino-style plucking (enter bass drum, enter alt country), you have your arms in the stuff, you're scooping handfuls to your mouth to get the sweetness, licking the surface like a cat lapping milk. you're thinking, can i swim in this?

that's when Rich Wife grabs you, whisks you up and out of the ooze, shakes you off and rolls its eyes while you blink feverishly, trying to let go of the haze. with the insistent beat and Roderick's hyped warning ("i don't know why i bring you around.."), it's not long before you're on your feet, drunkenly dancing like an idiot (a happy one) to something you barely understand, and love all the more for it. that riff - oh that guitar - it comes in at the end and rattles off with the tambourine, just to pick up again with a spruced-up return of the title track from their Ultimatum EP (note: the song is significantly better now). the light of recognition passes over your mug and you're sobering up, comparing the original to the album version, making notes, you're thinking of heading over to the 'top, pondering, "should i make a post on this...?" but it passes too quickly. (It's A) Departure rings in with an Stone Temple Pilots-ish opening, a ruckus of guitar that disturbs your train of thought and a roll of drums that has you kicking out with the dancing again. you're almost exhausted.

finally, Seven. it comes in quietly and rises, the acoustic catching your breath. you feel that sticky syrup returning, pouring over you from the crown of your head and down over your eyes, nose, into your mouth and over your clothes again (these will need to be dry-cleaned). drums come in late, after Roderick, and his voice is still tolerable (it is possible to highlight it too much) even with the returning sound of the stripped-down Ultimatum EP (minute:30, bring on the steel). by the time the song ends, you're captivated by harmony, and the repeated declaration: "I miss you, Seven." when the song ends, you do, too.

yeah so. i hate the album.

::::and you thought you'd read all of that with no reward?
The Long Winters - Sky Is Open
The Long Winters - Rich Wife
The Long Winters - Seven

more mp3s here.

BUY IT. hell, pre-order it now.  shan  1:02 PM  |  view comments (0)