Nova Scotia’s indie rock legends Wintersleep have been together for over 20 years.
For bands that have survived as long as Wintersleep, a question often emerges: do they still have the same drive they had when they started? Are the ideas still flowing? Is the chemistry present? Do they still sound interesting?
These questions often boil down to one all-encompassing yet reductive query: are they still good?
If Wintersleep’s new record Wishing Moon is proof of anything, it’s that the well is far from dry.
For those well-acquainted with the band, this may come as no surprise. Although the band hasn’t released a new record since 2019, its members have been busy with other musical projects as they stretch their creative limbs. Lead singer Paul Murphy has released four albums under his solo project POSTDATA. The rest of the band (Loel Campbell, Mike MacNeill, Tim D’Eon and Jon Samuel) have been involved in the indie-rock band Contrived.
In an interview with Wintersleep drummer Loel Campbell, he says that while it was the longest break the band has ever taken between records, they weren’t short on ideas—many of which were kicking around for several years.
“It was cool to revisit stuff that you worked on, you know, six years prior,” says Campbell. “You kind of get a new perspective on some of these things. It’s cool. It’s neat to see what sticks.
“When you’re working on a new song or whatever, you’re always excited in the moment, but you never know if you’re still going to be digging it years down the road.”
In terms of the streaming platform-dependent nature of the modern music industry, a recording hiatus isn’t necessarily a sound business choice, admits Campbell; however, as Wishing Moon shows, the wait was well worth it.
Track-by-track
The record, released on March 27, kicks off with a fuzzy guitar riff laid over harmonizing vocals on the title track. It evolves into an indie-rock soundscape with its intensity coming and going in sweeping movements. As the name implies, it’s a sound that could come to you while in a deep sleep as your mind drifts towards the sliver of space between the conscious and unconscious.
The sound changes to a more traditional rock track on “Stranger Now”, a catchy, laid-back track centred around an iconic guitar lick and a chorus accompanied by background harmonies. “I Got A Feeling” is a cheery-sounding pop-rock love song with apocalyptic imagery, with allusions to holy water and burning skies and a lyric that rings true for the band’s output as the tracklist goes on: “I got a feeling the well won’t ever dry.”
“Waiting for the Tide” shows the band remains as versatile as ever, switching their poppy tones to grungy chords with Murphy’s vocals taking on an almost Eddie Vedder-esque quality before smoothing out into his usual soft-but-soaring voice on the chorus, leading into a bridge with prominent falsetto vocals, gentle and calm before ramping up into the grungy riff that started it all. It’s darkly beautiful with the same progressive quality as the title track.
While Wintersleep is no stranger to heavier riffs in their music, the return to that sound was one of several ways the band managed to pull something forward from the past, in more ways than one.
“It’s been kicking around for so long,” says Campbell. “We jammed around with that… I’m certainly grateful that we didn’t push through with those versions at the time because with the song, ‘Wait for the Tide’, it’s in an odd time signature, it’s in seven-four. My role in that song was to make it seem palatable, so it had a groove. Seven-four, not to get too nerdy here, but it’s pretty jagged. It’s kind of hard to make it groove, and I went through so many iterations of that kind of drumming and waiting for it to come in, the feel.
“We did the right thing, I think, for that song,” he continues. “You just want to make sure. You want to serve the song and make sure you don’t make it sticky or kind of distracting.”
“My Mind Always” further showcases Wintersleep’s tendency to make odd sounds work together, this time with an acoustic riff that sounds like it’s in a different time signature, partnered with a simple yet pronounced beat, all accompanying Murphy’s folkish vocal performance. “Gale” is similarly pronounced with a sound drenched in a folklore finger-picked guitar, evolving into a mystical soundscape. “After You” chugs along with a steady beat and power chords underlined by keys and harmonies, with the sound filling out more and more as the song goes on. Like the tracks before it, the song evolves moment by moment into something new.
The same can be said for the album’s remaining tracks, including “Abyss”, a pop-rock track with a folksy twist: a calm intro which progresses into a chanting chorus, becoming an irresistibly catchy song begging listeners to sing along. “Redrawn” has a similarly folksy tone, with Murphy’s vocals moving the song forward with subtle yet emotive vocal flourishes.
“You & I” returns to the indie-rock stylings Wintersleep is well-known for while still retaining that progressive element that makes their music so interesting. “All Eyes” is distinctively indie-rock in tone, but it follows an off-kilter rhythm that breaks down into a soaring chorus that also feels inspired by the 1990s. “Like A God” begins with an acoustic riff that blends into reverberating electric guitar tones, transcending into a finale of instruments singing in unison as if to reach heaven itself.
All throughout Wishing Moon, Wintersleep proves they are not lacking for ideas; if anything, the time they spent away from the studio has left them with a list of tracks meticulously well-defined, brought together in a unique album showcasing the band’s ability to make each musical moment all its own.
The process
From what Campbell says about how the album came together, it could be their process for picking and choosing songs that led to such a versatile record.
“Sharing ideas,” he explains. “Sending a couple ideas in an email, or putting together a [shared] folder and dumping everybody’s ideas in there. Everybody can kind of sift through and get a sense of what people are gravitating towards instead of woodshedding every single idea.
“That’s what it’s always been about,” he says. “Picking those songs that everybody is most excited about and kind of resonates with, because I feel like that’s the filter of the band; the filter of a group effort or a collaboration. Feelings might get hurt sometimes… but I don’t know, it’s not like that because the trust is there in the musical sphere. Everyone respects each other’s taste, so it’s kind of like, OK, I hear you. Let’s move on, let’s forge a path. There’s always more than enough ideas.”
On top of releasing the new record, Wintersleep just finished a two-week tour through Europe, which was an overall positive experience according to Campbell, whether it was seeing their friends from the band Frightened Rabbit for the first time in several years, the packed show they played in London, or running into friends of friends from A Place to Bury Strangers in Switzerland.
“It’s definitely a grind, but you know, it makes it worth it that people are still coming out and to see these relationships that people have with these albums is, you know, it really kind of makes it all worth it,” says Campbell.
Wintersleep’s next performance will be playing two shows to celebrate their album release in Halifax. Tickets can be purchased for their Friday performance at the Marquee Ballroom, with their Saturday show completely sold out.
