Customer Reviews

Putting the Days to Bed

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dysfunction in self breeds great art.
Dysfunction in relationships breeds great pop songs.

Three years ago I was drawn to The Long Winters release When I Pretend To Fall by a quirky pop song called Cinnamon. Once I listened to it a couple of times I figured out that Cinnamon wasn't even close to the best song on the disc. Several other songs stood out but it was the track Stupid that sealed my being a John Roderick fan for a very long time. There are several layers to making a good pop song. A catchy melody, great lyrics, and raw emotion are the three that stand out to me. Rarely do all three meet at the same time, but on the aptly named track Stupid, they certainly do. Roderick, despite the fact that his voice is irritatingly whiny to some, manages to churn out a cement mixer full of emotion on many of his songs and when his opening line on Stupid is, She has no idea she can make me do anything, you know you are in for a long ride on an unhealthy personal journey.

Skip ahead to Putting The Days To Bed and the same formula has worked on me again. I was drawn in by the quirky Fire Island AK, found out that it wasn't even close to the best song on the disc, and was absolutely moved to chills on the track Hindsight, a song I believe to be the singer's response to 2003's Stupid. It appears that John has recognized that a true relationship will never come to pass and he has to let it go. However, his only way of doing so is convince himself that she'll one day be sorry she let him slip through her fingers. With lines like: But I'm bailing water and bailing water 'Cause I like the shape of the boat, and If you're my anchor then I'm throwing you over the side Before I have the time to say I never wanted anyone this way it's clear that the pain of moving on may be too much for him to bear. The entire lyrics to Hindsight could not be more perfectly written and the way Roderick's voice is able to grind it through the emotional mill leaves me absolutely speechless.

The disc starts out strong, stumbles through the middle, and manages to find it's footing for the remaining three or four songs. The two songs after Hindsight, to me, are the low points of the CD, but that's probably because you're left on such a gut-wrenching precipice it takes two more songs to get you back. I find it odd that the title to 2003's release can be found buried in the lyrics of Stupid and the title to 2005's release can be found buried in the lyrics of Hindsight. I'm guessing that few people notice that. Whereas 2003's release had a smattering of bad relationship songs, it's central to every song on Putting The Days To Bed. For those of you that can't stomach the pain, this may not be for you. For those of you that realize that pain and suffering equals exquisite music, enjoy John Roderick's pain.

This absolutely floored me with its catchiness. Great lyrics like "Now I'm smoking cigarettes when no one else does" and "You never told me your secrets, so I guess they're still safe with me" provide new novelties to enjoy after the initial catchiness of the music wears off. That's gonna take a while, because this is one of the catchiest cds I've heard all year. "I like the old days, but not all the old days, only the good old days." Great cd.

I think this one is at the top of my list for 2006. Really great pop music, with maybe a bit more power than their first 3 discs. The lyrics are a bit more abstract, in a good way. The harmonies are fantastic...this disc reminds me a lot of Zumpano, or Joe, Marc's Brother with the harmonies. The songs are just terrifically written and fleshed out. The production is 1st rate, and if you crave power pop of a higher order than most of the current indie pop/rock out there, don't pass this one up! Ear candy of the highest order!!! You will be singing along with those high-note leads and harmonies!!!

If it ain't broke, don't fix it would have been an excellent idiom for Long Winters' frontman John Roderick to abide by. After all, 2003's When I Pretend to Fall is a collection of robust, jangly power pop songs, soaring with catchy melodies, intricate harmonies, and powerful, interweaving guitar and keyboard hooks. Virtually every song on the arguably under-appreciated masterpiece sounds like a Top 40 Pop-Rock hit that never quite found the sizable audience it deserved. Go ahead - play Cinnamon, Shapes, or Stupid to even the most cynical of listeners and watch in awe as you find their toes tapping rhythmically (whether consciously or not).

I don't intend to imply that this LP, Putting the Days to Bed, explores new and uncharted musical territory. On the contrary, Roderick is subscribing to the slightly modified counterpart of the aforementioned cliché: if it ain't broke, tweak it. The album is still laden with melodies, harmonies and interweaving hooks that will have you screaming the lyrics alongside the album while stuck in traffic, despite the confused visage of surrounding on-lookers. Indeed, the evolution from When I Pretend to Fall to Putting the Days to Bed isn't as aurally evident as the sophomore album's progress from the band's debut LP, The Worst You Can Do is Harm. Rather, it's the subtle nuisances of a slightly maturer lyricist employing slightly more complex rhythm structures and rock styling that differentiate this album from its predecessor, and make it a worthwhile addition to the collections of indie pop-rock fanatics globally.

Putting the Days to Bed is an undeniably poppier, dancier, and more upbeat version of the Long Winters of 2003. While the unflinchingly cynical naysayers will insist the album is more of a minutes-separated twin than older brother to When I Pretend to Fall, the strength of the individual material it contains justifies the disc as more than a companion piece to its antecedent. The album remains unlikely to change the minds of those (unfortunate few) resistant of the band's already established pop-sensibilities, but stands as a second chance to capture the audience salivating for fresh power pop in the vein of Photo Album-era Death Cab For Cutie, Metric, and label mates Nada Surf while appeasing the band's established fans with more of what caught their attention in the first place.

"Putting the Days to Bed" is like the sun: it shines and burns in equal measure and it's necessary to sustain life.

Each of the eleven songs are meticulously crafted and range from insanely catchy ("Teaspoon" with its vampy horns) to punch-in-the-gut aching ("Would you say that I/ was the last thing you want/ to remember me by" from "Seven"). On "Hindsight" singer/songwriter John Roderick matches Dylan ("Are you still training for the big race/ by hoping the runners will die") and Roderick's vocals soar and invite throughout the entire disc.

Unfailingly melodic, jaunty and kinetic, "PtDtB" is a big ball of wonderful. Rock it and then rock it again.

Don't buy all that "it's a death cab rip off" garbage. This is the best odd pop record of the year. Wildly imaginative and thouroughly original. Roderick's writes great lyrics and hooks and over emotes in all the right places. Death Cab is OK, but this here is the real deal.

Let's just get this out of the way: you can't fade on John Roderick. (In turn, you cannot fade on the Long Winters.) His songwriting is impeccable. On the new album, Putting The Days To Bed, there is no opportunity for boredom. The pop found in the previous albums is poppier, the sass is sassier, all around this is the best Long Winters effort yet. Not many bands out-do themselves like that, but the LWs do it -every single time- they release something new.

The songs have a heartrending quality that lends itself to the unique dichotomy of Long Winters songs: feeling the bitter, melancholic, or downright snark-filled sass of the lyrics and still wanting to dance like you just do not care, perhaps with your arms in the air.

Here are the things to remember about the Long Winters:

-no matter what the sitch, they will make you shake yr "groove thang"
-you are not too cool for them. and if you think you are, be sure that Master Roderick will let you know.
-purchasing Putting The Days To Bed is quite possibly (nay it IS) the best thing you can do with your money. (i mean, the mountain goats album isn't out til AUGUST)

PUTTING THE DAYS TO BED EQUALS AWESOME GOOD TIMES OKAY? OKAY

This album is fantastic. So fantastic I can't really think of anything clever to say.

It is the rockingest Long Winters album yet, with songs you will be humming throughout the day. Fire Island, Psuhover, Teaspoon and Rich Wife will all bore inside your thoughts... in a good way.

If you like music with great hooks, a good beat and intelligent lyrics, look no further.

I listen to a lot of music, in a lot of different genres, but this is easily the best album I have bought in years! The lyrics are smart, snappy and have just enough rhyme to keep your brain dancing happily.

I put this one to bed after just a few weeks. Sorry to say (because I hate those boneheads who say, "This sucks.")

Great hooks and some clever lyrics, and a very nice voice. But the overall effect is of the songwriter trying too hard to write the "perfect pop song." The overall effect is that it's too tight and confined for its own good. There's a difference between going after the perfect pop song and just writing songs.

In the end, there's not much new here. Nothing surprises. I wonder if anyone agrees with me in saying that what the Long Winters truly lack is ATTITUDE. All caps.

Sorry, but we need a fewer pop stars reading and quoting books.

Long Winters will be compared to Nada Surf who do the same perfect-pop-song thing. Instead try Matt Pond PA or Phoenix's second CD and get back to me later.