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Win Win Winter “A Brief History of…” [EP]

From the streets of Tampa Bay comes the exciting new band Win Win Winter and their phenomenal EP “A Brief History of…” [audio.16].  This 5-piece is comprised of Thomas Simms [vocals, songwriter, guitar, and bass], Alan Relkin [guitar], Joshua Greenberg [guitar, piano, synth, and yes, xylophone], Brian Schanck [guitar, bass, and synth], and Matthew Bennett [drums].  The EP is more than just the sum of its parts, however.  These youngsters display some fantastic songwriting skills and expert musicianship that help create the illusion that they’ve been around for a lifetime.  In fact, they’ve only been together for about a year and were initially formed from the ashes of a Thomas Simms solo project.  When the solo gig didn’t pan out, Simms reached out to his longtime friends and got them to join together in a band.  It wasn’t long before things started to click.  Innocent bystanders were quickly converted into loyal fans, the press showered them with nothing but praise, and things just started to snowball beyond all initial expectations.  Eventually, they signed with Tampa’s 24 Hour Service Station and “Brief History” was released on March 18th.  And with the five songs they’ve chosen for this EP, Win Win Winter is clearly a band with a bright and promising future.  Their influences are diverse:  Beck, the Beatles, Wilco, Pink Floyd, My Morning Jacket, and even DC post-punk.  Most musicians and fans can site any number of influences and favorites, though.  In the long run, how meaningful is it all?  The true test is how a band pulls these influences together and gets something that rises above.  Something new.  Something fresh.  Something that doesn’t just fade into the background as soon as it’s done.  Win Win Winter have admirably succeeded where countless others have failed.  The proof’s all there in the EP.  It’s only five songs but what an impact they’ll have once you give a listen.  “Baker Ave.” starts it off with a bouncy blues riff that immediately grabs your attention and holds it.  “We Came From Stereos” takes things down a notch into pop/rock territory.  The magnum opus of “Brief History,” though, is the devastating and haunting “Doves & Uppercuts.”  It’s a song about a family dealing with the tragic loss of one of their young sons.  Your basic acoustic/slide guitar tandem together with Simms’ hissed vocals deliver the blows that leave you shaken.  You really do feel this family’s loss.  With each song, Win Win Winter demonstrates they’re a capable band that can only get better with age and experience and will fully placate any cynical ear looking for something new. 

5 points:

1. WWW has opened for Dresden Dolls, Travis Morrison, Minus the Bear, Dr Dog, and Mates of State among numerous others.
2. They’ve garnered plenty of critical acclaim and have recently won Tampa’s “Best of the Bay” award.
3. 24 Hour Service Station is label that has yet to miss.  WWW label mates include the oh so politically incorrect Car Bomb Driver [audio.14] as well as the terrific History [audio.15].
4. For more details visit www.24hourservicestation.com
5. For EVEN more details visit www.myspace.com/winwinwinter

--Greg Harris / grehar@aent.com