Wintersleep Self-Titled. Release Date : February, 2005. Label: Dependent Records. Rating: Andy doesn't dig rating stuff. This is challenging. I'm finding it hard to sit here and concentrate on things I'm hearing an write out a decent review to this CD because all I want to do while it's on is just lie back and writhe around and sing along, shed a tear, walk through the rain, lounge in the sun, ponder the clouds, count the stars... They fire on all cylinders straight up front though. I wasn't sure if there'd be a downhill slide after "Lipstick," because that track is so bloody solid, I couldn't imagine where they'd go from there. Harbouring such captivating and sorrowful lines as am I beautiful or worthless? and I will scar the clouds with kisses, folded in with rich harmonies and delicate instrumental nuances, sudden cliff-jumping stops in the music that land you on the hard, rocky surface of a high, pecking guitar... powerful opening. You get tossed into a sea of feedback and then tossed ashore an island of percussion to begin "Jaws of Life." This tune features some fantastic growling guitars. It's something that ends up rocking harder than a lot of big, manly jockrock songs. I have to laugh incredulously at people who dismiss the indie rock deal as just a bunch of weenies in thrift store sweaters staring at the stage floor and whimpering quietly. These bands put on a more genuine, more interesting, louder, more artistic, and more energetic showing than any other genre I can think of. This album ascends and descends through a range of emotions that it perfectly spins through its Wintersleepy loom into the finest musical interpretation of what's going on in all our heads. Range indeed. From those opening tracks that are so full of loud, raging energy, the band then drifts us softly into songs like "Insomnia," with thick yet gentle drums, pulled-taffy vocals, and the most understated and fragile guitar work. Wintersleep knows just when to punch in perfectly with a kick drum or a guitar wail, to catch you slightly off-guard and put your heart directly into your throat. The intent I think is to make you choke, you bastard, at least you'll feel something for once in your life. Am I alive? / Am I still breathing? To add to the back-and-forth in song styles, the track lengths are so varied. Some are 7-minute songs ending in giant jamouts, and others are tiny buck-and-a-half spits of sounds. Here, where the instruments take charge, vocals are hardly even missed, as they manage to command drums and guitars and bass to convey the same heart-fluttering emotion. You still get it - the unrest, the wonderment, the personal peril. It's all quite dark. I love dark. On the topic of dark, the album comes complete with the cutest, most tear-jerking liner notes ever. It's a child's storybook, you know, if you're an insane freak that wants to scar and frighten your children for eternity. The cover itself mirrors the recurring body-part theme in the lyrics. Oh lord, stop the world at "Danse Macabre." Quivery vocals singing beautiful words, snappy drums that get bits and pieces of your body moving, and a guitar riff that forcefully pushes you through the song. How can something be so touching and so depressing and so wonderful and so damn loud all at once? I can't help but think that I wish someone would write songs like this about me. I'd feel like a queen if I were the subject of lines like You're prettier than anything that I'd write. Lofty prospect. Mmm you can feel a theatre full of people la-la-la-ing along during the ending portion of "Migration." Those drums are amazing through the whole album, and they come in here again, punctuating the lines with bold, wall-shaking hits. It's the sort of CD I would definitely keep close by if I find myself on a 75-hour, solo Greyhound bus journey. This music was meant for such solitude, something to pour along a sheet of glass in the background while you think about everything you've ever, ever done and what it all meant in the end and how it helped to get you to where you are in that exact moment. All in all, after listening to this CD, I pretty much want to run away from this life. But at the same time, I just want to press the play button again. Song of choice : "Danse Macabre." Not taking away a speck from anything else on the disc of course, but that one is just so ... arrrrfrenzied! You can listen to "Danse Macabre" on the Cordmag Audio Player. Wintersleep on tour! Fri. July 8** Central, Victoria , BC Sat. July 9** Media Club, Vancouver , BC Sun. July 10** Boot Club, Whistler, BC Tue. July 12** Hi Fi, Calgary , AB Wed. July 13** New City , Edmonton , AB Thu. July 14** Exchange, Regina , SK Fri. July 15** Amigos, Saskatoon , SK Sat. July 16** Albert, Winnipeg , MB All Ages Mon. July 18** The Apollo, Thunder Bay , ON Wed. July 20** The Townhouse, Sudbury , ON Thu. July 21** Toronto , ON Fri. July 22** Call the Office, London , ON Sat. July 23** The Underground, Hamilton , ON Mon. July 25** Catch22, Oshawa , ON Tue. July 26** Kingston , ON Wed. July 27** Ottawa , ON Thu. July 28** Le Hemisphere Gouche, Montreal , QC -Andy Scheffler Elsewhere Wintersleep website Published : May, 2005.