The Winebirds, the homegrown Portland, OR based quintet, are making some noise with their first full-length, the pop infused Séance Hill. It’s a varied and often wonderful listen from the band — equally infused with humor, occasionally stellar vocals, and strong songwriting.
The obscenely funny first track, “I Obscenity in Your Mother’s Milk” is a great example of the positive; it’s dark but features great harmony/vocals and with combines a great instrumental section into the later chant. “The Solution,” too, is a winner with its solid opening hook and Rolling Stones like vibe (complete with the random call-outs of “Satisfaction!”). “Hit Machine,” while uneven in its ’50s girl group mentality, features the beautiful female vocals at their best.
What separates the album from excellence is a lot of the filler, mostly the slower tempo tracks. There’s a screeching halt to the aforementioned fun when “Out in the Van,” “Best in Show,” and “Tideman” — all boring duds — run consecutively. “Cassandra” and “Monkey Victim Unit” also miss the mark in terms of interesting composition.
And while it doesn’t take long for the listener to realize there’s something special there, it really is only conveyed in a few of the tracks. For a relatively new band on the scene, they’ve got some inherent talents on board that should carry them far.
The obscenely funny first track, “I Obscenity in Your Mother’s Milk” is a great example of the positive; it’s dark but features great harmony/vocals and with combines a great instrumental section into the later chant. “The Solution,” too, is a winner with its solid opening hook and Rolling Stones like vibe (complete with the random call-outs of “Satisfaction!”). “Hit Machine,” while uneven in its ’50s girl group mentality, features the beautiful female vocals at their best.
What separates the album from excellence is a lot of the filler, mostly the slower tempo tracks. There’s a screeching halt to the aforementioned fun when “Out in the Van,” “Best in Show,” and “Tideman” — all boring duds — run consecutively. “Cassandra” and “Monkey Victim Unit” also miss the mark in terms of interesting composition.
And while it doesn’t take long for the listener to realize there’s something special there, it really is only conveyed in a few of the tracks. For a relatively new band on the scene, they’ve got some inherent talents on board that should carry them far.
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