There's something intrinsically true about Wintersleep's name, as it relates to the band's slightly chilly yet warming and melodious nature. The band has been making waves in Canada since 2003, when their debut self-titled album hit the shelves, and people started taking notice of their enigmatic sound and darkly compelling lyrics. The band's 4th release overall, Hello Hum presents them at their most accessible, yet also at their most powerfully direct. The songs don't deliver twists and turns like their earlier tunes, but they also aren't self-consciously odd like some of those found on their previous album, 2010's New Inheritors. Wintersleep find a cautious balance between melody and melodrama, with the production of the record going in a slightly more electronic direction, but the songs themselves remaining taut and, fortunately, compelling in that very Wintersleep kind of way.
If you've loved Wintersleep since the beginning, it may take some adjusting of your expectations, and a few spins of the record to win you over; but in the end you'll find yourself really enjoying the songs because they are just good songs. The record is, in this humble reviewer's opinion, a drastic improvement over the previous release. Where they went wrong then, was with a new speak-talk vocal approach in certain songs, which could have been interesting in a way, except for the overly simplistic lyrics and underwhelming song arrangements. A few tracks stuck out as signature Wintersleep, but it was an overall disappointing record. I'm glad to be able to say that, with Hello Hum those flaws have been corrected. Wintersleep sounds like Wintersleep, albeit a more focussed and leaner version of the band I've come to love so much.
Wintersleep takes care this time out to imbue each tune with a focus that won't allow for unnecessary deviations into all-out jamming. Although this may read as "boring" to some fans of the band's previous output, Wintersleep doesn't disappoint those hoping for something interesting to sink their teeth into. Between the 3-5 minutes each song typically takes to wrap around you, there's enough going on to keep everything compelling and interesting, even if the band isn't apt to go off on tangents or perform extended math-rock licks. It's okay, they no longer need to. The songwriting on Hello Hum is enough for fans of the band to deliciously devour, and lyrically there's still knots of darkness to untie, but there's also bright sunspots to bask in. The instrumentation is varied, and as mentioned earlier, production-wise the album has an electronicity (I know that's not a word) to it that wasn't there before. Mainly in the way the drums thump and pop with deep bass and fuzzy synths weave in and out of the mix; with the overall effect just making the album sound bigger and denser than previous records did.
In essence, Hello Hum is both a return to form of sorts, and a nice augmentation of a sound the band has perfected. If you're one of the outsiders who (for what reason I can't fathom) haven't brought yourself up to speed with Wintersleep, now's a great time to start.
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