NEW PASTE MAGAZINE REVIEW:

WINTERPILLS

The Light Divides

[Signature Sounds]

FOUR STARS * * * *

Sophomore release makes pretty pictures out of sad words

Pain, sadness and fractious circumstances are an inescapable fact of life; Winterpills' music doesn't seek to amplify the hurt as place it in life affirming settings of richly articulated melodies and carefully rendered arrangements. Though some songs on the album ("Lay Your Heartbreak," "Hide Me," "Broken Arm," "A Ransom" and "You Don't Live Long Enough") might indicate otherwise, songwriter Philip Price is no doomsayer. A sense of hope permeates the album's gorgeous sonic textures and melancholic, muted palette. The cover itself perfectly captures the band's sound: clouds hovering over a solitary tree. And even the darkest clouds can't hold back the sunlight for long. -David Greenberger

MORE PRAISE FOR THE LIGHT DIVIDES:

“This disc scores very high in our imaginary "this is what music is and was meant to be" chart. Gorgeous understated production, lovely melodies sung by people who can really sing…” -The Village Voice

“Wildly infectious tunes… Price writes poignantly melancholic songs backed by a talented and innately dynamic band.” – No Depression

“…sophisticated, melodic pop-Americana… fine songs and nice lead guitar, but what’s special are their haunting almost West Coast ‘70’s harmonies.” - MOJO

“With careful male-female harmonies and righteously subdued acoustic-electric guitar interplay, Winterpills could strike a major chord with devotees of the dearly missed Go-Betweens, or Shins fans looking to handle a little more heart.” – The Independent Weekly

When Winterpills released their debut album in the fall of 2005, fans and critics alike scrambled to define what made it one of most significant musical discoveries of the year. Critics met the album with descriptions like “Heavy with moments of sheer beauty”, “exquisite vocals”, “deeply moving…heartrending”, and “as textured as the best indie rock around.” Fans put the album in the Top 100 on iTunes and Amazon.com and made Winterpills a most requested band on radio stations across the country. A feature on NPR’s Weekend Edition followed along with performances on syndicated radio shows World Café, Mountain Stage and others.

The Light Divides is a bittersweet breakthrough collection of songs that resoundingly delivers on the promise of the band’s debut. While the last album was recorded in singer/keyboardist Flora Reed’s home, The Light Divides is a true studio effort that opens up the band’s sound into an even more expansive palette, with richer colors and vibrant hues. “Our original idea for the first album was to casually record some demos at my house, but before we knew it we were making a full-length record,” says Reed. “We were able to go a lot further with this one. You’ll find some unexpected arrangements and more backwards guitar than you might expect to hear from us. There’s a lot you won’t catch on initial listens that hopefully, will tap you on the shoulder later.”

"These songs were ghosts when they first arrived. They became flesh and blood in the studio, and then became ghosts again, only even more translucent," Price mused when asked about the album’s title. "I was thinking how, in the dark, we’re all one unrevealed event, a miasma. It's only when we are hit with light that we are separate. In a way, perhaps this collection of songs is my way of cursing the light and, for better or for worse, avoiding lighting any candles."

Novelist and music writer Jonathan Lethem says, “The Light Divides ups the ante on the Winterpills’ shimmering, resonant, heartbroken pop glory. These songs, as musically sophisticated and delicate as any of songwriter Philip Price's career, and given otherwordly treatment by band members Flora Reed, Dave Hower, Dennis Crommett, and Brian Akey nevertheless feel essential, even familiar, like old friends. The hooks and harmonies have been burnished so that they glow from within -- it's as if Winterpills has brought to light the songs you were already humming to yourself, but didn't know it.

“Here’s "Lay Your Heartbreak", where a Neil Young melody tumbles down a Beatle rabbit-hole; "Broken Arm", which might be Smokey Robinson lyricism negotiating with the shade of Elliott Smith; "July", heartily embracing Matthew Sweet and The Byrds; "I Bear Witness", a ramble along the dark road paved by Red House Painters; "June Eyes" channeling Joni Mitchell through acoustic Led Zeppelin, and the gorgeous twin climaxes of the album, "You Don't Live Long Enough" and "A Folded Cloth" -- magisterial pop dramas that convince the listener that Winterpills is ultimately having a conversation with the whole history of rock and pop, and further, that it's one of the great conversations going on at the moment. Tune in.”