Winter Villains

Winter Villains’ early demos showed a promise built on layered, quasi-choral vocals and lush, snowdrift instrumental arrangements. They got us all very excited. And with the full-length album here, they have expertly cashed in on all of that potential. From the moment We Stepped Into The Night’s minimalist piano and percussion slowly usher the listener in, it expressly displays consistency and quality. The Air’s vocal dynamics are then spellbinding. Thorns builds and builds a la Sigur Ros, while incorporating sensitive and soft electronic glitches. Icebergs’ is perhaps the finest of all, aurally capturing the essence of cold, white landscapes. And, yes, all round, it is incredible, singular in its purpose, achieving it with seemingly no effort whatsoever. Just superb. - The Miniature Music Press

Autumn is upon us, and as days fall shorter and nights become bitter, never has there been a better time for Winter Villains to emerge with their debut album, February. Through a blend of choral vocals and experimental music, the album superbly captures the essence of winter and stands as an exquisite accolade to the cold, dark months that loom in the distance.

The spirit of the album is captured immediately through its prelude, “We Stepped into the Night”: a slow piano piece that hints at the serene sound of the overall album. A minimalist approach is adopted throughout resembling a sound from Sigur Ros, yet the vast use of orchestral instruments gives the music a wonderfully unique flavour.

The album explores a huge variety of sounds and boasts extensive musicality. Winter Villains are not afraid to experiment with unusual instruments, which create some beautiful unique moments in the tracks. The xylophone and piano combination used in “Thorns” is a brave step away from the mainstream and an admirable incorporation of classical music into their contemporary style.

Vocally, each song has a blend of stunning harmonies that possess a strong choral influence, often adding a hymnal quality to them. At times, the songs become almost prayer-like, as though worshiping the season. At the start of “Patterns”, for example, the hypnotic vocals resemble the sound of meditation, before a sudden change in tempo where a chant begins “we’ll follow patterns with no reason, all our patterns out of season”.

What is charming about this album is how it almost recalls a soundtrack, as though it should be accompanying the natural processes and elements common of winter. This is particularly prominent in the short musical interludes, like “Icicles Have Formed From Our Tear”, a metaphorical piece that produces a delicate ringing sound like a winter’s icicle. There is also frequent use of a wind sound in the background of some tracks, which conjures the image of a blizzard striking nature and sending it into wintery deprivation.

February delves into the depths of the dark and gloomy and celebrates something that others dare not. It is an idealisation of winter that is done with real musical grace, a stunning album from a band truly worthy of success. - DRUNKENWEREWOLF

Before a note is played, everything about this album screams "pastoral acoustics, harmonies, just don't mention Fleet Foxes, we don't even like them and sound nothing like them anyway." As Loyd Grossman famously used to say; "let's look at the evidence". A band called Winter Villains, as cover shot that's, well, kind of pastoral and outdoorsy, an album called 'February' and a debut single called 'Moon'. There's a definite obsession with nature and the natural world and it would suggest this is transferred to the music. Do you have "canoeing music" in Wales? Or shall we go for "valley walking music"? Joking and cheap stereotyping aside, you can certainly get a feel for this record without having heard it.

The crew that worked on it also give clues, with mixing and recording by Charlie Francis (REM, Turin Brakes) and mastering by Mandy Parnell (Sigur Ros, Mum). Our assumptions are correct, but the results our surprising. A timely release for an album that explores the beauty of winter, there may be comparisons to be had, yet Winter Villains can more than hold their own. The songwriting is of a high calibre, the arrangements and overall feel of the album even better. They've made the most of what they've got, and what they've got is already a thing of subdued beauty. 'House Of Knives' and 'Patterns' would stand up as simple guitar/piano and voice recordings, but the added extras make them truly shine.

More wholesome and substantial tracks like 'The Air' and 'Icebergs', plus the chamber-pop stylings of 'Thorns' or 'February' give them that added zing. Of course no album of this sort would be complete without some harmonies, and when you're toying with these sounds they need to be good ones at that. We can happily report that things are near faultless on that front. So you may have heard plenty of this type of thing lately, you may even be looking to broaden your horizons having overdosed on beards and acoustic guitars, but before you give up the ghost and decide it's Norwegian doom-metal all the way from here onward, just hold your proverbial horses for a little while longer and cosy up for the winter with this Welsh mob. You won't regret it.
- Sounds XP

Having just announced the new single from the magnificent Cut Ribbons, Barely Regal continue their spell of greatness with the release of February, the new album by Welsh chamber pop outfit Winter Villains. Due out on October 8, the announcemt coincides with the unveiling of this visually stunning new video for lead single ‘Moon’.

Directed and produced by On Par Productions, the video follows the travels of a young girl through the Welsh landscape, an apt setting for the first video from an album largely inspired by such striking scenery.

Enjoy the sweeping and other worldly ‘Moon’ above. February will be available to pre-order via all good record stores on September 24. To keep you sweet for now, you can download ‘Moon’ for free via Winter Villains’ bandcamp page. - The Line of Best Fit