Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
“[An] ice-filigreeing-the-bare-trees sound, cold and achingly beautiful -- is what sets this group apart... downright glorious when the harmonies start, as crisp and shining as crystal.” - Washington Post
"...Its brilliant opener, 'Found Weekend', is the best song Elliott Smith will never write again, and also because of the constant high quality both albums are equally unmissable for people who love intelligent, acoustic pop music. **** (4 stars) " -- Eric van Domburg Scipio - Heaven Magazine, Holland
"...though Price already has a seemingly endless back catalog of perfect pop songs, he also has a knack for discovering more and more new treasures in the air that floats around us all... room-hushingly beautiful..." - Hampshire Gazette
"I'll go to my grave swearing Price's former band, The Maggies, was the Lost Pop Band of the '90's. This is his newest and greatest solo record." - Dusted Magazine
“Deeply moving...heartrending... a mesmerizing flash of warmth among the turned-down lamps and cold hardwood floors of a wintry night. Singers Philip Price and Flora Reed harmonize like kin.” - No Depression
“Winterpills is as textured as the best indie rock around. ‘Want the Want’ is almost overpowering in its low level orchestration, while the achingly reserved ‘Cranky’ is one of the year’s more poignant music pleadings...will demand many a repeat listen.” (Best of 2005 List) - Daily Times, Philadelphia
''A stirring collection of Price's subtly adorned and lyrically shrouded ruminations...a lovely hushed affair that has drawn praise far and wide... use[s] silence and space to exquisite effect... " -- Jonathan Perry - The Boston Globe
"While Winterpills tip their hats to predecessors like [Elliott] Smith, and a current crop of musicians --Iron and Wine, the Shins -- the quartet is pushing past these examples, into their own sound... graceful melodies, sweeping harmonies...and the sort of wry lyricism that puts a strong face on a painful subject. " - Clamor Magazine
"'Threshing Machine' and the muted glimmer of "Want The Want" personify the band's depth, leaving this eponymous offering a prescription for indie fans looking to fill a void..." **** - AllMusic Guide
"It was grinding through tough times that brought out the beautifully melancholic songs on Winterpills’ self-titled debut—songs about fractured relationships, dissolving families, painkillers and death....The tight-knit band....brings some brilliance to the palette. Reed’s airy vocal harmonies levitate. Dennis Crommett’s minimalist guitar parts subtly command your attention, and Dave Hower’s inventive drumming adds tension..." - Paste Magazine
Discography
Winterpills debut album came out Nov. 8th nationally on Signature Sounds/Soft Alarm. It will be released in Europe via Rounder on Feb. 7th, 2006.
discography:
Winterpills -- self-titled debut. Signature Sounds/ Soft Alarm
Philip solo:
(2002) 13 Songs for Right Now - Listen Here Records
(2003) Honey In The Chemicals - Listen Here Records
Philip's releases with his previous band The Maggies are:
(2002) Robot Stories
(2001) Breakfast at Brelreck's
(2000) Cryptic Valentine
(1998) Homesick
Out of print releases by Feet Wet are:
(1995) Harpies
(1994) Roped
(1992) Show & Tell
(1992) Tender Skelter
(1991) E
(1991) True Moisture
(1990) Goodbye Bambi Manor
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Winterpills is a band that plays the songs of acclaimed and diverse songwriter-singer Philip (power-pop: The Maggies; alt-country: Gay Potatoes; lo-fi teenage-bedroom-balladeering: Feet Wet; avant-punk-pop: Memorial Garage). Winterpills formed late in 2003 after Philip and Dennis Crommett (Spanish for Hitchhiking) had played numerous acoustical shows together and a certain Paul-and-Art comraderie evolved. Shortly after that, Dave Hower (Spanish for Hitchhiking, the Fucking Sparklies, the Neilds) also joined. Then in mid-winter 2004, dark weeks of late-night living room sessions playing cover songs with singer-songwriter Flora Reed yeilded the idea of her joining the band.
The idea has been to take the simple, stark arrangements of Philip's newer quieter & softer songs, and gently expand upon them. The chords, melodies and words should be touched as lightly as possible. No grandstanding, less rigid arrangements.
Philip -- either solo, with Flora Reed and also with the full band -- plays frequently in and around their musically diverse and beautiful hometown, Northampton, MA, (home to members of Sonic Youth, Fountains of Wayne, Dinosaur Jr., Ware River Club, Spouse, Pernice Brothers, as well as singer-songwriters like Lloyd Cole, Thane Thomsen, Henning Ohlenbush), as well as regionally (Boston, NYC, Portland, ME).
some stats:
• featured artist on WXPN's "World Cafe Next"
• featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition, Dec. 18, 2005
• Charted at #39 on CMJ for 2005
• a “Most Requested” band on XM Radio’s The Loft
• Performances on syndicated radio shows “World Cafe” and “Mountain Stage”
• Top 100 on iTunes and Amazon
• WFUV, WXPN, WYEP, WDET, WFPK, WRSI, WERU, WUMB, WHRV, WUKY, WBJB, WNCW, WYSO, KCRW,KXCI, KUT, KNBA, KRCL, KCMP, KEXP, KUNC, XM, Maine Public Radio, World Café, Acoustic Café and many more.
They've payed with such notable artists as Erin Mckeown, The Mountain Goats, The Malarkies, Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter, Martha Wainwright, Chocolate Genius, Matthew Hebert (Ware River Club), Donna the Buffalo, many others.
Links
