Label: 24 Hour Service Station

Released: December 7, 2007

What happens when Fugazi meets Black Sabbath? History. Okay, so time will tell if History the band actually makes history, but there's no denying that the potential is there. Their album, Ghosts in the City, isn't just the result of these influences slapped together in some random fashion, but a natural meeting of the former's mathed up passion and the latter's heavy groove (tempered perhaps into a less sludgy though no less compelling hard rock sound). Add to this the airy effects of two keyboards and their sound finds an even more unique voice for itself. What really makes the album great though is that it provides both the frenzied excitement of calculated hardcore and the pumping, thumping heaviness whose legacy is at the root of pretty much any decent hard rock and heavy metal, all with more than a touch of madness.

Ratings
Satriani: 7/10
Zappa: 8/10
Dylan: 7/10
Aretha: 7/10
Overall: 7/10

 

Win Win Winter: Win Win Winter heats up
By Julie Garisto

Win Win Winter and the phrase “best new band” often appeared in the same sentence this past year.
The acclaim happened overnight — sort of.

When singer-songwriter-founder Tommy Simms started playing solo in late 2006/early 2007, there were signs of promise, but his self-titled act lacked focus.

Simms changed the name to Win Win Winter and a sudden transformation took place, like when the Bucs switched from Bucco Bruce orange to crimson and pewter. Soon after, the lineup solidified with longtime friends Josh Greenberg on keyboards, Alan Relkin on guitar, Brian Schanck on bass and Matt Bennett on drums.

Word of mouth spread, the local press praised them, they booked more and more shows and landed a spot on burgeoning indie label 24 Hour Service Station, which released their current six-song EP, A Brief History of ....

One of the major components of Win Win Winter’s strategy: Simms’ knack for interweaving the tried-and-true elements of pop with the less predictable chord progressions of jazz and progressive rock. He also writes evocative, empathic lyrics and sings them succinctly. He can snag a hook just right and hit you later with a snazzy breakdown.

WWW’s most popular songs, New Accents and Doves and Uppercuts, infiltrate your brain like tunes you’ve heard a million times on the radio, minus that not-so-fresh feeling.

“Tommy’s songs always have something that grabs your attention and commands it,” Greenberg said. “He is also very open to collaboration, which prevents his music from becoming too much of a vanity project. He is consistently reaching for new ideas and isn’t afraid to work and work at it if it’s not working out, which is another aspect of his strength as a songwriter: patience.”

Simms couldn’t do it alone. The guys, who vary in age — Schanck is the youngest at 21, and Greenberg the oldest at 27 — are just as solid. They provide much-needed creativity and texture and widely contrasting musical backgrounds — Greenberg and Relkin from Mants, Schanck from the Same and Bennett from various punk bands.

They’re all friendly jokesters onstage and off, even going so far as to insert a hidden gag on the inside of their CD sleeve: the simple phrase, “Gay Wizards Three.”

“We came up with it on tour while playing Mad Libs,” Greenberg says. The three words, he explained, were part of a revamped nursery rhyme:
“Old King Cole was a busted old soul / A shriveled old soul was he/ He called for his grandma/ He called for his postal employee/ And he called for his gay wizards three.”

Win Win Winter

Lineup:
Tommy Simms (vocals)
Josh Greenberg (keyboards)
Alan Relkin (guitar)
Brian Schanck (bass)
Matt Bennett (drums)

History : Ghosts in the City

24 Hour Service Station

Offering another flavor into the already bountiful Orlando music mixture, History delivers with a sound that has its feet planted firmly in the mid '90s post-punk past. Their debut, Ghosts in the City, may take multiple listens to hold tight, but once inside the ear the layers of noise offer nostalgia to those of us who remember bands like Fugazi, Superchunk, and Helmet. For those of a younger age, they will -- with any luck -- open up new ears to old times.

The dual vocals of Matt Caron and Melissa Parker are as pleasant a pairing as Frank Black and Kim Deal were. Where Caron is frantic and full of nervous anxiety, Parker is a like a smooth milkshake.

Where this Florida band stems off from the otherwise post-punk influence is in the slightly electronic base coat brought on board by the inclusion of a moog keyboard, and the occasional experimental instrumental breaks.

Songs to start with: "Brake Through Hour Wall Sew We Can Sea Where the Rats Arrgh," "Bloody Death of Murder," "It's Ladies Night Somewhere," and "Horn of the Unicorn."

History: www.historyband.com

HISTORY "Ghosts In The City" (24 Hour Service Station)
Review by Corey Schmidt

When you name your band HISTORY, you either don't care about getting web-hits from Google, have a lot of confidence that your music will live up to the title, or know a good lawyer who will defend you in your copyright trial once said band makes a name for itself. In the case of Orlando, Florida's HISTORY, I have no idea if any of the above cases are true, but I do know that their debut full-length is a pretty rocking slab of keyboard-infused post-hardcore. Angular guitars, shifty rhythms, and throaty vocals form the band's propulsive foundation, allowing much room for Moogist Scott Ososky and keyboardist Melissa Parker to make a mark. Although subtle in many songs ("BMK & The Valley Of Bats"), this small addition really adds a lot to the band's already aggressive aural attack. It's a sound that we've heard before from a band like CLAIR DE LUNE, but here it's done in an even more raw, rigged, and unique form. While these traits are definitely appreciated, there are times where the guitarists get to play with melodies a bit more, and the result is a song like "She Spit In My Cup" where some parallels to THURSDAY can be heard. For the most part, Ghosts In The City has just enough diversity between songs to make for an interesting forty-minute listen. HISTORY still might need those Google results and a copyright lawyer down the road, but if it comes to that they may already be paving their own path in a historically-significant genre.

www.24hourservicestation.com