...The Evolution of Wintersleep

I have known Wintersleep for some years now and I have seen them perform a number of times but that does not seem to stop my opinion on them from continuously changing. Seeing them this past weekend I realized I have done a complete 180 on my thoughts on them (and maybe this is to be expected from a constantly evolving band).
I really enjoyed Welcome to the Night Sky, their last album, but still felt that I missed the old Murphy-driven (lead singer) songs of old. I wanted more of 'Orca' and 'Avalanche', the highlights from there early albums. With there show this past weekend, I confirmed a few thoughts from the last time I saw them. One thing that has struck me interesting, is that Paul Murphy's voice just doesnt sound as good as it used to. Im not sure if it is him just trying to find new places in old songs but sometimes he pushes it to far and with the augmentation of his voice comes a cringe from me. The other thing which is clearly apparent is the success of the instrumental parts to there live sets. It is evident that this band has too many amazing musicians to not focus on making their sound more instrumental and experimental, and maybe as a fan of the band it is my duty to encourage this. How could you not love a 7 minute drum solo from Loel which comes with every edition of 'Nerves Normal' (see below). So although I usually want the stripped back version of "things" from bands, I love the sound which comes with forays into the instrumental, seen with below video.
This conundrum is solved with something that I usually see as a negative in the music world. Side projects are so-oft not my favorite but I am beginning to see the light with some of them. For instance, Paul Murphy the lead singer of Wintersleep has just released a side-project called Postdata. In addition, the rest of the band (Mike, Loel, Jon), have long played with a band called Contrived. These projects allow Murphy to pursue his song-writing talents (Postdata) while allowing the rest of the band more experimentation with sound (Contrived). Although, Im not completely sold on either side-project, I get there necessity.
The evolution of Wintersleep and its side-projects leave me intrigued to hear there latest work, set to be released in May, called New Inheritors (you can find a live version of a new song on my Youtube channel found here).

...Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels

Some bands/musicians reach a point where they have generated enough attention with their music that when they put out a new album it pushes them to exponentially increased fame (as Malcolm Gladwell would say a “tipping point”). The solid group of fans they have formed and the hard work from previous tours makes it almost unstoppable for them to not garner significant more attention with their next album. Often the assumption then follows that said new album contains the best music to date by this band, but often this is not the case. I feel this applies to the latest album by the Great Lake Swimmers, Lost Channels.

Do not get me wrong the latest Great Lake Swimmers album is full of worthwhile listens with Tony Dekkers’ luminous voice leading the band through well built folk songs. But this album misses a song which can carry the album (or as the music industry calls it a single). ‘Pulling on a line’ was put out as the single for this their 4^th album but for me it (and any other song on the album) doesn’t hold a candle to some of their other great hits; ‘Your Rocky Spine’ and ‘Passenger Song’ from Ongiara, ‘Moving Pictures Silent Films’ from Great Lake Swimmers and ‘I Saw You In The Wild’ from Bodies and Minds. I take a lot more enjoyment out of these albums, especially Ongiara. I know these past albums drew some attention but I feel that GLS has gotten more praise for this album than previously; with a Polaris Prize Shortlist nomination and attention from down south (see this NPR video).

Nonetheless, I love their old albums and Dekkers voice and therefore they deserve all the praise they can get. Unfortunately sometimes the industry gives recognition at the wrong time, possibly based on cumulative work. They have been one of the named bands to be showing up at Whistler for the Olympics and I look forward to seeing them again. Also check out this Camera Music video of 'Your Rocky Spine', my favorite song and a cool setup here.