Weinland
Breaks in the Sun
Badman Recording Co., 2009
I first came across Weinland back in 2008 when I bought their album Demersville on CD Baby. I became borderline obsessed with it and picked up their second album, La Lamentor, about twenty minutes later. Both of those albums are amazing and I would absolutely recommend them to anyone who enjoys the occasional sleepy, melodic folk song. You know, something to put on the iPod when you're driving through the New Mexico desert at night, as so often happens. "What do they sound like, this Weinland", you ask? How about Okkervil River's Sleep and Wake-Up Songs, but with a healthy dose of Neil Young. They're the perfect example of folk music done well which is something few bands these days can accomplish.
With Breaks in the Sun, Weinland have decided to pick up the pace a bit. There's even a..uhh..dance beat? Besides the sudden Rapture influence, the songs on this album all kind of blend together and I kept waiting for one to really catch my attention. No dice.
I'll be honest, I'm not crazy about this record. However, I think that's because I have such a high regard for this band and I just expect a lot. I know, it's selfish.
Weinland set the bar extremely high with their lyrical, musical and overall songwriting skills and I feel like this record just doesn't hold up to their previous ones.
Of course other people will love this record and I can understand why. They're a really good band. But I would urge them to pick up Demersville and La Lamentor as well. Seriously.
E says: Do yourself a favor and buy/steal their first two CD's before you jump on this.
L says: I like "Young and Smart". (Which is not on this CD)