The Winebirds

Séance Hill

Self-Released 2010

Portland's music scene delivers delight in the form of mellow pop-rockers The Winebirds.  One of the most noticeable features of The Winebirds is their boy-girl vocal approach.  I Obscenity In Thy Mother's Milk is the lead song on the album and sets a light and happy tone that reminds me of a slightly dreamy version of Tegan and Sara, if they were from the 70s.  My favorite track on the album is Hit Machine with its melancholic yet bouncy style that recalls The Clash's London Calling if it were underpinned by Cardigan sounding synth-pop.  A worn-down and jaded emotion permeates Out In The Van as its dueling vocals sound tired and parallel the late-night barroom piano lines.  The shimmering church-organ synths set up the gospel chorus perfectly.  Acoustic strumming and dusty male vocals paint a somber portrait on Tideman before a powerful yearning overtake the layered boy girl vocals of the chorus.  The seasons change into a sweltering summery gust on Vanity.  A thick bass and intoxicating female vocals dance like flames across a sea of bewitching keyboards.  A hint of the Beatles surfaces on Superdelegate but it is masked by punky male vocals that bring to mind the singer for The Testors.  A manic paranoia seeps into the desperate notes of Cassandra while insistent female vocals bury themselves into your subconscious to haunt you in silent future moments.  Hypnotic vocals and desert acoustic guitars drift in an airy breeze on the album's closer, The Hill.  Séance Hill is a sensitive and emotional tapestry of deep musical roots and pop sensibilities that is smooth, like butter, across the ears.