A synth-friendly, hooky balancing of rock and pop shows on the newly released Europa EP, the latest from The Winter Sounds. Patrick Keenan’s magnetic songwriting leads the project, which is presently based in Pardubice, Czech Republic. Europa is one of three releases this year from The Winter Sounds, followed by bedroom pop mixtape Head Canon in the summer and their fifth full-length LP, Jupiter, in the fall.
“Autumn Wind” enamors in its starry-eyed synth effervescence and soaring vocal culmination, with bursting guitar tones impressing into a riveting second half. The cohesive integration of playful guitar tones and illuminated synths make for a compelling sound throughout. “Dreams at the Speed of Light” embraces a fuller synth-pop enthrallment, complemented by explorations of “nostalgia and joy in memories after loss.” The “it’s so hard to let go,” hook enamors amidst brass-y radiance and colorful synth entrancement, concluding with a plucky dreaminess.
The Winter Sounds also take influence from the literary movement of “solarpunk,” described as “the banner for a variety of movements towards a sustainable anti-capitalist future.”
Stream these tracks and the rest of the EP:
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These and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
