The Winter Set

The Winter Set are pop schizophrenics, changing moods and styles at the
drop of a hat. The band, forged in the fertile soil of Rural Indiana, quickly built up a reputation as a strange and unpredictable live act while playing alongside acts like Bonnie Prince Billy and Asobi Seksu.
The Winter Set know the virtues of Mercury Rev induced Neo-Psychadelia, the eerie softness of Yo La Tengo, and the flailing guitar work of Pavement and Blur. The songs are idiosyncratic and rhythmically driven; awash in acid-damaged keyboards, and upholstered in the harmonies of Sandbox-Era Brian Wilson.
The culmination of this strange brew, however, isn't as unpalatable as one might expect. The Winter Set's songs are a constant take-off; always building up, never down. This is evident in songs like "Mediterranean," where hypnosis-inducing melodies give way to a pulsing, bass driven conclusion and a king-of-the-mountain yelling match between members. "Smoke Break" is unapologetically minimalist; seemingly sporadic guitar and bass juxtaposed with gorgeous harmonies and tense drones. "Home for me and You" is a piece of surreal pop perfection that Stephen Malkmus would no doubt adopt and raise as his own child.
The Winter Set are a band to watch in the near future, if only to wonder what they will be doing two years from now (food services?). The Winter Set will be touring the U.S. in June'05 in support of their debut EP on Desolation Records.