This album has been around for a while in Europe I believe (according to wikipedia it was released in 2007) but it was released just last November here in the U.S. Wintersleep is an indie-rock group from Canada (of course) that have a pretty full rock sound they bring on the tracks in here, with a fair amount of melodic know-how and the occasional solo chop, they put together quite a good record here. Uptempo atmospheric rock tracks abound here creating a lush soundscape to really pull the listener in and get a great vibe going, and it is largely solid from beginning to end making it a nice find.

“Drunk On Aluminum” (the opener) is a slow space rock outing that leads into the more upbeat driving “Archaeologists”, a damn good track. From there they have two songs back to back that are in the alternative-ballad vein, much like Athlete or something like that. “Dead Letter” has a slow thumping drum beat that is overlaid with some piano in the bridge sections and a very Athlete/Coldplay-esque kind of chorus. Has a very cool sound to it and is certainly a sing/hum along kind of song. “Weighty Ghost” is very similar with some very infectious “na na na na na na”s thrown in there towards the end with a full chorus. This is also a very cool sounding song. “Murderer” is an instrumental interlude in the middle of the album, “Search Party” continues this same slow indie-brit pop sound that they have developed after the first few songs on the record.

“Astronaut” comes along as a bit of a welcome departure from the slow burn of the ballads and has an almost early-90s alternative flavor to it, with some nice meaty guitar hooks thrown in there. “Oblivion” is also more upbeat in this same way, sounding kind of like a poppier version of Interpol or something. “Laser Beams” has a nice, epic feel to the chorus after a very rock bass-drum stomp rhythm on the verse that works pretty well, then it turns into a race to the finish accompanied by a wall of sound. Pretty good song here. “Miasmal Smoke & The Yellow Bellied Freaks” is a very drawn out finisher that builds on a spacey atmospher for half of the song before the vocals even come in, then there is a steady, strong finish to the song.

This album is really solid and the songs are very good generally, even if they are fairly pop-oriented. I think if you are a fan of bands like Athlete and such this is going to be right up your alley, and Athlete is certainly one of my guilty pleasures still to this day, so I do like this album. It is not rocket science but just good Brit-pop from a group of Canadians done very, very well.

BV Rate: 77

Wintersleep – Astronaut – From Welcome to the Night Sky
Wintersleep – Dead Letter – From Welcome to the Night Sky