Winter Gloves
Montréal, Quebec, Canada | INDIE
Music
Press
Thoughts on 2008: Exclaim! Contributor Jill Langlois
12/31/2008 By Jill Langlois
To tide us over while we indulge in the holiday spirit gorging on stuffing and egg nog, we asked a bunch of our contributors to tell us their thoughts on 2008, as well as their favorite records that helped make it a memorable year. Much to her surprise, Jill Langlois realized how many records that she loved actually came out in 2008:
Flipping through the records I accumulated this year — yes, I do indeed buy actual hard copies of them — came as a bit of a surprise. Until being asked to be retrospective on 2008, I don't think I realized how many records I love were products of this past year. I'm a big believer in listening to an album from beginning to end, and from one to ten, my favorites were like musical utopias. So if you've been meaning to check any of these ones out and haven't yet, make sure you do. They just might be music to your ears too.
1. Winter Gloves About a Girl (Paper Bag)
It's rare that a record makes me think and makes me want to dance at the same time. And without a doubt, About a Girl will make you do both too; it's synth pop rock at its best. Newly signed to the Paper Bag family, Winter Gloves are an extremely cohesive unit for a band that started out with just one guy playing in his room not so long ago. I know this seems like a random pick to put at number one but trust me, they deserve it. I'd put money on the fact that you'll hear more great things from them in years to come. And I just put that in writing.
- Exclaim! Magazine
Top 8 Canadian Albums Of 2008
December 30th 2008
Winter Gloves - About A Girl
I was introduced to Winter Gloves in early 2008 after they tossed a free homemade EP my way while I was busy jamming at a show. What followed was six months of anticipation for the band's debut, which is a stunning collection of songs from a quartet of super cute bilingual guys from Montreal/Quebec. From rocking the side stage at Toronto's VFest to playing at public libraries & cramped bars, Winter Gloves are well equipped to conquer any venue. Best: Invisible, Factories
Source: http://blog.muchmusic.com/archives/2008/12/top_7_canadian_1.php
- MuchMusic.com
When a new band covers a better-known contemporary, it's usually either an attempt to gain some quick recognition or a genuine act of homage. Montreal quartet Winter Gloves' version of LCD Soundsystem's "Someone Great," off 2007's Sound of Silver, feels like the latter case. After all, these Canadians unabashedly proclaim a reverence for an instrument that figures prominently in LCD's original -- the glockenspiel -- and don't hesitate to repurpose its cheeky twinkle on their concise version, which clocks in at two minutes; the original runs six-plus.
Download the "Someone Great" cover below, along with "Let Me Drive," a track from Winter Gloves' forthcoming EP of the same name (scheduled for a February release in the U.S., with a full-length following in March). Its wistful keyboard kitsch should please fans of Ra Ra Riot's tightly woven pop songs or Wolf Parade's more ambitious rambles.
http://spin.com/articles/listen-hot-montreal-band-covers-lcd-soundsystem
- Spin.com
Minus 16 degree cold can’t stop the rock at the M For Montreal festival.
Actually, it could if we had to walk anywhere, but clever festival organizers have put all six acts on tonight’s boutique line-up in two separate rooms the Just For Laughs club, so there’s no time to miss anything. It's a far superior line-up tonight, and we’re noticing a definite electro-punk string running through the Montreal scene that points to plenty of potential successors to Crystal Castles...
Things really kick off with Winter Gloves, who harness what we’ve been recognizing as a ‘Montreal sound’, low slung new wave propelled on by some filthy beats in fine style. But they do it with more charisma and better songs than anyone else so far. Check their track ‘Let Me Drive’.
- NME.com
Though indie pop bands aren't exactly a rare commodity, the good ones are always worth the work it can take to discover them. Winter Gloves, the Canadian-based quartet led by Charles F, make explosive, danceable synth-rock music that qualifies them as one such group. The band's debut LP, About A Girl, has recently seen a U.S. release and caught the attention of Spin, who offered two tracks by the band, their cover of LCD Soundsystem's "Someone Great" and About A Girl's first single, "Let Me Drive." Both are worth a download. The new album is a brief (29 minute) blast of catchy choruses, spiky guitar lines, and fuzzy keys behind Charles F's theatrical tenor vocals. Aside from the aforementioned "Let Me Drive," highlights include the urgent opener "Factories," the electro-rocker "Invisible," and the appropriately named "Party People." The band also mix things up occasionally with some slower, more pensive numbers like "Glass Paperweight" and closer "Piano 4 Hands" that round out the album and give it some needed variation, resulting in a well-balanced record with no filler and plenty of killer. For indie pop addicts, About A Girl would make an excellent addition to your collection. If you want to hear more, you can head over to the band's MySpace page. You should also check out their amazing flip-book music video for "Let Me Drive," which you can see at my previous post.
Source (US): http://chewinggumfortheears.blogspot.com/2009/03/new-artist-winter-gloves.html - Chewing Gum For The Ears Blog
Esquire's annual guide to music shares our favorite new (and sort of new)songs we like. Simple as that. Heard 'em all?
Invisible by Winter Gloves #18
http://www.esquire.com/features/music/best-new-songs-0409 - Esquire Magazine
From the sound of Winter Gloves’ debut LP about a girl, their hometown of Montreal must be a chilly place. The electro-pop group has an affinity for bedroom-electronica arrangements, presumably conceived in those cozy confines to hide from the shivering cold outside, and frenetic dance beats that are designed to send listener’s blood temperature soaring when the heater’s broken. about a girl is bound to make their place of residence a little warmer, as the band offsets its use of potentially icy electronics with organic instrumentation, bouncy melodies, foot-stomping rhythms, and heartfelt performances. “Let Me Drive” masterfully mixes anthemic vocals with analog synths, disco bass patterns, well-placed handclaps, and angular guitar accents. Similarly, the title track’s infectious melodies are bolstered by 8-bit synthetic flourishes and sonic curveballs that come in the form of both electronic and acoustic instrumentation. Winter Gloves have succeeded in crafting an album in which melodic sunshine can coexist with the frostier elements of dance music, bringing exuberance and flair to a style that could few others would dare touch with human hands.
- URB - CD Reviews
Discography
Album: "About a Girl"
Streaming/Satellite: Invisible, Hillside, Factories, Let Me Drive
Photos
Bio
Winter Gloves began as one guy's way of figuring out how to plug himself into life in the big city. It was a single microphone and minimal equipment gathered into Charles F's downtown Montreal apartment to piece together all the distances he'd covered since growing up in rural Quebec. The jarring shift of such a transition seemed to peek through every chance it could, a constant inspiration as much as frustration that was drafted in the band's self-released Let Me Drive EP of mainly demo tracks. Today, Winter Gloves is Charles F (lead singer/songwriter/wurlitzer), Pat Sayers (drums), Vincent Chalifour (synths) and Jean-Michel Pigeon (guitar/glockenspiel). With only a handful of live shows behind them at the beginning of the 2008, Winter Gloves was already receiving invitations to join bands like Tokyo Police Club on a series of sold-out tour dates. Such well-attended shows helped spread what was becoming the wildfire of the earlier EP demo tracks that spiked on top 10 lists with record downloads after being made available on iTunes, and lead to top pick coverage at both major annual music festivals in Canada, Canadian Music Week and NXNE. After the Canadian release of the bands full length in the Fall of 2008, the band continued on the same foot as things had started with dates alongside Tokyo Police Club and a slot at Torontos Virgin Festival before hitting the road across Canada with Vancouvers You Say Party! We Say Die! and Quebecs Beast. Reactions to the album and these shows immediately secured showcase opportunities at International conferences, invitations for further touring and secured spots on Best of 2008 yearend lists including Best New Artist from iTunes Canada. The "About a Girl" LP is ten songs driven by the sounds of keyboards and drums, all wrapped up in a constant buzz of bass and gritty synths. The foursome have introduced the album in the US and Canada, and most recently released a complementary digital-only album entitled A Way To Celebrate that includes a collection of alternative versions of the debut album's track.
After 2 cross country tours, including a most recent run with Thunderheist across Canada on Exclaim! Magazine's annual spring tour and a summer of festivals, the band is currently gearing up to head back out for a series of US West Coast dates with Thunderheist this fall.
Links
