The Long Winters - Putting the Days to Bed

Genre rock Publisher Barsuk Records External Links Official The Long Winters Website Official Barsuk Records Website

The Long Winters is one of those band names that immediately brings to mind a specific musical sound. Personally, when I first heard the name I was expecting a collection of sad, hushed songs sprinkled with lyrics about icicles and frozen fingers, and I couldn't have been more wrong. The Long Winters actually sound more like early spring when green buds are pushing their way out through the long frozen branches and everything starts looking up.

Putting the Days to Bed, their newest offering, still presents the bitterness of the freezing cold winds. This is most evident in the song "Rich Wife" with lyrics like: "Now tell, me is your high horse/Getting a little hard to ride?/And your little bit on the side/Getting harder to find?/When you get restless at night/But it's too late to start/And there's nothing left to eat in this house but your heart." Ouch! So mean! (Love it.)

The music on the record has that pure indie-rock quality that marries the messy and the offbeat with smart lyrics and lively guitar work. John Roderick, primary songwriter for the band, did an interview with Paste Magazine earlier this year where he talked about a span of time between 2004 and 2005 where he rarely left his bed. He spent most of that time working and reading, but the record isn't exactly a lament of all that lost time (although the title is certainly born of that era). "Sky Is Open" is a song that probably best sums up the overall feel of the record. There is an awareness of sadness, but overall the songs turn up the guitar amps and shows off more newfound energy then regret.