I’ll hold my hands up straight away and say that ordinarily I wouldn’t go within a restraining orders length of the type of music Wintermute play. Indie music for me rarely stands out and I’d likely pass 9 out of 10 times, probably more actually. On first listen to ‘Robot Works’ I’m in danger of doing the same thing, but in this case a little resilience proves to be a good thing.
Genre prejudice, if that’s what you want to call it, aside, getting down to the nitty-gritty of ‘Robot Works’ it’s hard to deny that this is a meticulous record. There’s a delicate and cultured sound made up of precise and technical guitars alongside a periphery of accompaniments (the piano and coastal wave reverb on ‘I Abandoned My Boy’ prove spot on) that create a layering that intrigues. Essentially, this is a multi-listen record: you won’t source out everything in one go.
Alongside these calming sounds are some moments of angst and anger. It’s not the embittered fury of the hardcore punk world but there is a definite sense of tempo upping and vigour. Search out ‘Shark VS E-Boat’ or closer ‘Jambon! Jambon!’ for examples. For me these moments don’t come along often enough and there’s a sense that some of the songs merge into one another, especially if you’re not paying full attention. I dare say this might not be the case if this was the type of record I listened to on a regular basis.
There is undoubtedly an audience for Wintermute. Head down to any of the local Club NME nights across the country and you’ll come across more than a handful of punters that will lap this up. It may be a genre I’m not massively keen on but there’s a quality that simply percolates out of ‘Robot Works’. It’s more technical than your average indie band and worth a listen. These untrained ears may not be bowled over but others will be.
Alex