From Kim Ruehl,
Your Guide to Folk Music.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

There's something ethereal about just putting the Winterpills' new CD in your player. It's like moving a magical curtain aside, only to reveal a magical room where colored lights swirl and glitter dances through the air. The band's subtly hushed harmonies careen through melodies that are, at times, a little bit country and, at others, a little bit rock and roll.

Highlights From 'The Light Divides'

The first stand-out song is "Handkerchiefs" (Purchase/Download), which would be a bit of a hoedown number, if it weren't for the aforementioned dreaminess. Singer Flora Reed's soft-sung vocals build a level of curiosity and unsureness that add to the reticent, secretive lyrics ("Just need a place where we can talk into our handkerchiefs," she sings over and over again as the song winds to an end).

"Shameful" (Purchase/Download) is another notable moment on the disc. For all the sounds happening from the Winterpills' numerous instruments, Phillip Price's breath is still quite audible between lines. As a result, it comes across like an exasperation, as he sings, "Orchids in a fistfight, noone wins / now it begins..." Even after a couple of listens, it's not clear what this song is about. Nonetheless, it is admirable on a very basic level: the band's use of their instruments, the rhythm of the words, the close harmonies and Price's diction.

A Pervasive Dreaminess

The Winterpills aren't the sort of band you can throw in the stereo just anytime. There's a definite mood to the songs—a pervasive dreaminess that calls to mind some late-70s pop, some early Beatles tunes and, on occasion, classic country music.

One highlight of the disc, which is also somewhat of a drawback, is that the band puts a lot of weight on its lyrics. Their choices of words satisfy the full poetic spectrum: utilizing the words' intrinsic rhyhtms, melodies, and inflection. This is not an easy thing to do, but it also results in making the songs a little less accessible.

You can't just throw on The Light Divides anytime, to satisfy just any mood. As a result, the album isn't likely to resound with just anyone. More likely, it will be admired and appreciated by fellow songwriters and musicians. But, with refrains like, "This is what you'll wear to the end of the world / A world away from me / A word / A ransom," it's impossible to not love this band.