...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).

...Olympic Size Music Lineup

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, Ive been...not blogging. Wanted to share my excitement for the event about to hit Vancouver. Not necessarily the Olympics, but the music that is coming with it. The list is huge and includes Malajube, Deep Dark Woods, The Arkells, Mother Mother, Dan Mangan, Said the Whale, Jill Barber, Constantines, Coeur de Pirate, Wil, Sam Roberts, etc. Highlights for me include the lineup of Tokyo Police Club, Hey Rosetta and Wintersleep all in the same night. In addition, I have purchased tickets for a Belle Orchestre show which should be a couple hours of instrumental genius on stage. This band boasts some musical heavyweights with Arcade Fire members (who are geared up for a HUGE year with their HUGELY anticipated follow up to Neon Bible) and Mike Feuerstack (who I mentioned in the Snailhouse post below). Unfortunately, the Orchestre show occurs on the same night as a Neil Young tribute with all kinds of musical draws (including Land of Talk, Sun Kil Moon, Jason Collett, etc.). This seems like an event which someone would not want to miss but with a ticket price of 60 and up, this unemployed fella will not be going. I hope to see a lot of music during the games and although I dont have a media pass to report on the games, I'll give you an update on the good sounds.
Some other news of interest, I saw that Land of Talks video for Its Okay landed on Time magazines Top 5 music videos of 2009. This is the video I posted below, only days after it had been released, so dont say Ive never handed you anything of noteworthy value.

... Update:Brian Borcherdt and Paul Murphy

I just recently urged artists to not be afraid of going for the stripped down method. Now news this week that my fellow Nova Scotians have heard my call. Brian Borcherdt has just released 17 new/old tracks/demos recorded over the last couple years. Torches is exactly what I had requested and I have had this at the top of my musical brain since the release. Early favorites are 'Worn Thin', 'Steady Hands' and 'Furnaces'. The best thing about this album is it is completely free for download from Borchedts own label Hand Drawn Dracula.
Also released this week is news that Paul Murphy, lead singer of Halifaxs Wintersleep, is releasing a solo album early in 2010. A step back for Murphy, whose indie-rock recently has been coming up with novel and acclaimed instrumental genius to accompany Murphys voice. You can listen to three tracks from Murphys Postdata side project here. These songs signal a return to some of Wintersleeps earlier sound, with more focus on Murphys voice and more acoustic underlying than the recent electric guitar/drum based releases from the Wintersleep ensemble. Maybe while Murphy is off promoting this album the rest of the band will go off and make another album with their side project, Contrived (whose latest album grew on me a bit but Im still hoping for more from this band).