If you’re bored of waiting for My Bloody Valentine to release new music, or mourning the loss of Sonic Youth, there’s a new band from the south coast who might just fill that void. Winter Gardens impressed with last year’s single ‘Coral Bells’, and since then have been working hard on their fittingly-named first EP ‘Tapestry’, which arrives with four brand new tracks bursting with an ambitious and often beautiful creativity.
On ‘Coral Bells’, the band blend a bright upbeat backing with softly swelling guitars and keyboards to create a punchy song with alluring depth. It’s a modern take on what the band describe as ‘dream-punk’, which the rest of us might recognise as a mixture of post-punk and shoegaze. Using this sound as a starting point, each song on the EP pushes into more expansive space.
Opening with the title track ‘Tapestry’, the band lay down a delicate foundation upon which the subsequent songs build. One minute it is a swirl of ethereal arpeggios heightened by Ananda Howard’s rich vocals, the next it lets loose in a series of interwoven threads, before dropping to a whispering end. What really holds the listener’s attention is the song’s pace, which feels expertly controlled and is constantly in flux, even as it spirals to a beautiful, lofty climax.
‘Zigzanny’ is the most up-beat song here and shares its driving power with the band’s stand-alone single, but approaches it from a different angle. Underwired by a synth sound and heavier drums, it lulls you into a false sense of security by playing with bewitching electronic pitch bends. It’s particularly enticing and creates a surprisingly dense soundscape – before you know it, you’re tapping your feet along and losing yourself in its warm tones.
When discussing inspirations for the band’s work, multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Jamie Windless talks of growing up on a council estate and creating a world of sounds to escape into, so it’s not surprising he was drawn to a genre as expansive and freeing as shoegaze. This desire to explore is particularly evident on the instrumental track ‘Laminar Flow Pt. I’, which uses a measured drumbeat and a glistening synth pattern to evoke running water. Its rising and descending feel transmits emotion in a different way to the preceding songs and hints at the band’s deeper undercurrents. Surprisingly, in a genre prone to indulgence, the song fades away just as it finds its feet. After building up a soundscape of programmed drums and atmosphere it leaves you feeling like it has more to say, which is a shame when the path it lays down is so mesmerising. There’s a delicate balance between too much and not quite enough and it falls just to the latter side.
Finally, ‘Winters Bleak’ feels like a culmination of everything the band has explored on the previous songs. Opening with a synth-pop vibe, it soon expands, becoming rich and layered. Awash with guitar effects like chorus and delay it is satisfyingly hypnotic, especially as Howard’s vocals are blurred into the sound and Matt Squires’ bass adds a sustained artistic flair. Shifting slowly along its runtime it becomes a pulsing, synth-driven soundscape and it is here the band reveal just how good they can be. Finally, a rich and delicious guitar solo shears across the whole thing, bringing this short EP’s journey to its conclusion.
‘Tapestry’ is an impressive debut EP. Despite there being only four tracks, its expansive scope and captivating sound gives you plenty to sink your teeth into. With the band currently demoing new material, based on this, it will be very much worth looking forward to.
IAN KENWORTHY