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This Issue 02/22/2007

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Winterpills
The Light Divides
After the first few tracks off The Light Divides, the Winterpills' new album, you might think you're listening to the Dawson's Creek soundtrack. With songs consisting of only two chords and optimistic vocal crooning, the album starts out in a monotonous tone that doesn't snap until track four, "Broken Arm". By blending the voices of Phillip Price and Flora Reed to create a fast-paced, melodramatic sense of musical urgency, "Broken Arm" is unmatched throughout the remainder of the album. The next pair of tracks, "Shameful" and "Eclipse," also have pop, but these three unfortunately round out the songs worth listening to on the album. "Shameful" integrates a rolling guitar twang with blended vocals to make a weak hybrid of The Shins and the voice of Arcade Fire's Sarah Neufeld.
All too often, the Winterpills end up trying to make their songs hazily majestic with yearning vocals on top of powerful guitar. Meanwhile one can only think that perhaps these methods are best left to Creed's Scott Stapp.
The Winterpills succeed at creating a constant eerie drone in their songs, but unfortunately have little innovation to separate themselves from other indie bands. This is one example of indie rock that should stay independent of listeners.
- Colin Jacobsen

elvis perkins
Ash Wednesday

Patience is a virtue. And you'll need a hell of a lot of it to get through folk singer-songwriter Elvis Perkins' Ash Wednesday. Perkins' debut album starts out slow, with an underpinning theme of melancholy- a feeling apropos considering the death of both his parents, his father nine years ago and his mother on 9/11.
Images of loneliness and dream sequences seep through in tracks such as "It's Only Me" and "Emile's Vietnam in the Sky." In the latter he poses the question: "Did you ever wonder where you go when you die?" Elvis - aren't we already depressed enough? The lyrics are poignant but he delivers them like a less subtle Damien Rice.
Despite the overwhelming negativity of the lyrics, the album remains stubbornly optimistic. Most of the beginning tracks have an abundance of "Uh-oh's" and "La-la's" that keep the pop flavor from dissolving. The title track marks the midpoint and a change in the musical texture. Finally, the drummer moves off the high hat and Perkins' range extends outside the monotone. The violins, accordions, muted trumpets, and vibes begin to move the music around in Radiohead-like arrangements. The final track, "Good Friday," moves the guitar off the center stage and brings in the piano -providing a peaceful meditation on the 40 days of Lent that this album evokes.
- Alex Ullman

calla
Strength in Numbers