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WINNING |
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Track Listing |
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Andy Dixon (Secret Mommy, The Red Light Sting,
Ache Records), Paul Patko (The Winks, The Red Light Sting) and Jack
Duckworth’s (Primes, Radio Berlin) most recent outing. This is An
Ad For Cigarettes, Winning’s debut release, is an anomaly. Depending
on your perspective, it’s either a deliberate, meditated attack on
rock and punk culture, or an homage and extension of it. The chaotic
and seemingly careless execution would suggest the former, while the
deep, brooding melodies would imply the latter.
"Take indie, remove all its usual melodrama and add a whole lot of free jazz-influenced rock guitar "riffs," some Ruins and some Magma. I know, you're probably thinking either, "eww, jazz" or, "Oh my God, no! Don't you mix my Sun Ra with those pesty emo teenagers!" Leave those thoughts aside, as you'll love this even if you're a free-jazz purist or an indie fan. Quarter tones, unfinished phrases, disonnant harmonical relations, lack of coherent structure. Everything they've told you not to ever do in music, these guys do it... for 36 minutes. That's where the part about free jazz comes to play. It probably isn't, but it sounds really, really free, as in totally improvised. The result is actually really positive, but quite a hit or miss when it comes to liking it or not. It's a fact: This is an Ad for Cigarettes will have you weirded out faster than you can possibly think. And it'll have you like that for as long as you keep it playing. That's where people will be divided into two big groups. The first group will love the fact that it's 100% non-conventional (even the almost normal vocals are incredibly out of place in a good way) and that you haven't heard anything like this before (well, maybe one or two Fiery Furnaces parts, but not really). The second group won't stand more than some seconds of the album. After all, This is an Ad for Cigarettes IS inhumanly weird. There are some things, however, that just tell you that Winning aren't just kidding around. For example, the whole band can keep up with the constant accelerandos and ritardandos with no problem, and they can make it seem like they are actually controlling the chaos that is This is an Ad for Cigarettes. That's the one and only word that will tell you how this sounds: chaos. But it's certain, it'll have you wondering just how the hell they came up with this stuff. And it'll also make you wonder if they are too particular for composing, or if they just improvise way too well. You can't say they have flaws, as technical flaws are a big part of their sound... and that's why we like it. Actually, the fact that it's not perfectly played, and you can hear lots of random note muting and sometimes missed notes, makes it a really fun album. It's sometimes as if you're listening to three people who have never played any music besides practicing their instrument a lot, and were forced to record an album. So, yes, they don't abide by any of the musical "laws" (except some distant relations to tonality here and there) and so they naturally make something new. It all makes you think that Winning is an isolationist band. (9.7/10)" - Maelstrom This review is too long to post (but it's great!). Click here - Two-Way Monologues "Oooh this is a weird one. On This Is An Ad For Cigarettes Winning manage to successfully combine elements of (1) jagged angular punk in the vein of Smell scene groups like, say, Wives, with (2) tons of free jazz skronk – no doubt the the result of too many years in Vancouver, with it's wildly alive free improv scene and (3) enjoyable soaring melodies that could fit as easily in an emo band's repertoire and finally (4) abstract, poetic lyrics that seem informed by Fugazi's brand of wordsmithing. If that wasn't enough how about (5) insane tempo accelerations that would make Black Flag swoon. Who are Winning, you ask? A Vancouver group, 'tis already been revealed. And since Vancouver is maybe becoming a city known for it's supergroups – New Pornographers, Swan Lake, Black Mountain, and the list goes on – it's worth noting that Winning too is something of a supergroup. How loathesome a term, supergroup! I'm sure if the band members read this they'll puke up a little in their mouths. I digress.... the band features Andy Dixon of Secret Mommy, The Red Light Sting and Tights and also the Ache Records head honcho, and Jack Duckworth of Radio Berlin, Primes, A Luna Red and also known for his graphic design under the name The Wax Museum. Rounding out the group is Paul Patko who is no doubt super in his own way but I don't have his credentials at hand... No matter, his drumming kicks just as much ass as his colleagues dual guitars and vocals. I don't know if people still buy albums in stores, but let's assume they do: This Is An Ad For Cigarettes is one of those records you pick up just cause the cover looks so fucking awesome. If you're addicted to skronk rest assure you'll get a double fix here and then some. And if you're not entirely ready to give up on melody just yet, you might still love the hell out of this record – the majestic melodies somehow manage to turn even the most dissonant passages over which they freely fly into a thoroughly listenable listen. Brilliant record, hope it wasn't a one off. Why the bejezus hasn't this band toured the fuck of of North America with AIDS Wolf already?" - Left Hip "The ol’ juggernaut of full-speed-ahead experimental freak rock has few practitioners these days, so when a new one appears on the scene, there is some level of excitement involved. And surely enough, Winning warrants excitement. Their commitment to the stripped-down three-piece rock combo line up nicely, and their "all cares to the wind" approach to making music is infectious. It’s the traditional rock sound put through the blender. Chugging riffs that never quite come together give way to slackened strings reverberating give way to splintered funk grooves that stutter give way to... you get the picture. The traditional is challenged. New combinations are put forth." - Tiny Mix Tapes "...a clumsy acrobatic act beneath the Big Top of punk rock. Gracefully stumbling, they de?le the last 50 years of rock music with just two tangled guitars, a drum kit and some vocal harmonies. It’s unquestionably one of the most original albums I’ve heard come out of Vancouver in years..." - Only "Winning’s discordant, triumphant
sound clicks something deep inside. Although punk applies equally
to an attitude as to a music, I would hesitate to truly hurl the moniker
on Winning’s CD. The jams feel too well put together and laid
out. Blessedly unpredictable, each song unfolds in a frenzy of well-orchestrated
rock: clangy guitars (some say angular, but “clang!” like
the sound of steel beams dropped on concrete, forklifts, and rusty
gates), oddly overdriven bass and the voice of defiance. - Discorder "Andy Dixon's "rock" project
Winning strikes gold on their debut release "This is an Ad for
Cigarettes". Pure guitar/drum/percussion variation with piano
thrown in for good measure makes for some wicked and wild tonnage.
Percussionist Paul Patko and guitarist Gregory Adams make for some
fine ruckus of the highest voltage. If anything, this is more like
hard rock meets staunch stop-and-go routines from another galaxy.
If anything, I imagine Secret Mommy playing like this if they were
a real rock trio. Let's say Dixon is the propelling force here. If
that's a case, then he's trying to move the electronic cut'n'paste
factor onto the stage. It works quite well, in fact, as the songs
are sparsely broken up into motifs and crazed sub-sections that are
self-contained. Don't expect much of this stuff to make real sense
[this is acid music after all]. Best thing is the lyrics. From "Top
Fan Mail": - Gaz-Eta "As a debut record goes, this is downright impressive. Eclectic post-punk noise rock that dips and drones about. Sometimes the frenetic guitars trip over themselves as there is certainly no rhyme or reason for anything in particular on “This Is an Ad For Ciagarettes”. Lyrically the album stokes the political, consumerist, and Big Business pot a bit. Where this chaotic album is really sharp is its witty usage of odd off-time signatures and quirky melodies." - smother.net
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