One Track Mind

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Nova Scotian indie-rock quintet Wintersleep were relative unknowns until the release of their third album, Welcome to the Night Sky, in 2007. That release suddenly propelled the Halifax band into a new stratum of popularity, earning them some healthy blog buzz as well as a Juno Award for New Group of the Year–a distinction that conveniently overlooked their first two albums and their inception in 2001, not that the band would complain. Since then, the group has been relatively silent, although its members have their paws in all sorts of other acts (including Holy Fuck and Hayden, among others) as seems to be a proud Canadian tradition these days. With the June 1st release of their fourth LP, New Inheritors, and a coast to coast tour of the United States to follow shortly thereafter, Wintersleep is poised to retake the spotlight.

The title track from Wintersleep’s new album is an enchantingly mellow but eminently engaging composition which wends its way through a few distinct passages. Its opening verses are elegantly understated and (surprisingly) evoke Arab Strap era Belle & Sebastian, which is less of a curveball once you know that the man behind the mixing console was none other than Tony Doogan. Doogan made his mark as the producer of nearly all of Belle & Sebastian’s recordings in addition to his work for artists such as The Reindeer Section, Mojave 3, Teenage Fanclub, Super Furry Animals, and Mogwai, and you can hear his inflections throughout the track: the soft suppleness of the acoustic guitar chords, the gentle elasticity of the electric guitars, the tenderness of the trumpet’s notes. There’s a bit of The Reindeer Section in the extended bridge which effectively comprises the first chorus, its distorted guitars just menacing enough, as well as in the chasmal breakdown halfway through.

Something Wintersleep does marvelously on “New Inheritors” is keep their feet moving, never overstaying their welcome in any one section. When the final verse rolls around with its refrain of “New inheritors of Earth,” it is a welcome return to the song’s opening themes, delivered with a beefed up resonance this time around. This track makes it easy to see why so many people fell in love with the band four years ago and why so many more will this time around.