INTERVIEW: The Winter Sounds drops new EP

The Winter Sounds have returned with their highly anticipated EP, Grand Gestures, offering a taste of what’s to come with their forthcoming full-length record, Jupiter. Known for their unique blend of danceable post punk and 80s new wave, the band has spent over a decade delivering electrifying live performances across North America, gracing stages at notable festivals such as SXSW and CMJ. Fronted by Patrick Keenan, the band has established themselves as a force to be reckoned with, releasing critically acclaimed albums and earning recognition from esteemed publications like The Huffington Post and Atwood Magazine.

Grand Gestures showcases The Winter Sounds’ trademark bright indie rock sound and reaffirms their ability to craft compelling melodies and poignant lyrics. The EP kicks off with the upbeat and catchy “Angel,” featuring infectious melodies that instantly grab the listener’s attention. The bouncy rhythms and captivating vocal leads of “False Alarms” demonstrate the band’s prowess in creating dynamic and engaging tracks. As the EP progresses, “Life is Short” takes a more introspective turn, juxtaposing emotive lyricism with vibrant instrumental tones, creating a thought-provoking sonic experience.

A standout track, “Kindness” is a dazzling and grandiose indie rock offering that showcases the band’s ability to craft memorable hooks and deliver a powerful musical punch. With its infectious writing and uplifting chorus, this track is likely to become a fan favourite. The EP closes with “Ocean Waves,” exudes an anthemic quality, inviting listeners to join in and sing along with the chorus. It’s a moment of musical unity that is bound to get feet tapping and bodies moving.

Throughout Grand Gestures, Patrick Keenan’s signature vocal style shines, carrying the listener through each song with its distinct charm. The EP serves as a testament to the band’s ability to evolve their sound while staying true to their roots. Their commitment to crafting captivating music is evident in each track on Grand Gestures. From the beautifully crafted melodies to the poetic lyricism, the EP showcases the band’s growth and maturity while maintaining their infectious energy and enthusiasm.

With their forthcoming album set for release in early 2024 and produced by Derek Garten (known for his work with Taylor Swift), The Winter Sounds are poised to make an even greater impact on the indie rock scene. Their ability to blend genres and deliver memorable hooks is a testament to their artistry and musicianship.

We caught up with the band’s frontman Patrick Keenan to find out more about the journey of The Winter Sounds, their inspirations and their new EP ‘Grand Gestures’. Check out our interview with The Winter Sounds’ Patrick Keenan below.

Hey Patrick, how’s things?

Hi everyone at Plastic Mag. We are good! Thank you for the interview ☺

Which artist first made a lasting impression on you?

For me, the first artist which really captured my attention and drew me into music was Rush. I think I was about 16 and my friend Jason found his stepfather’s collection of old records in the attic. And it was everything, Pink Floyd, Zeppelin, Cream, Rolling Stones, etc., but I just completely got hooked on Rush. I listened to almost every album I could find over and over and over again. It was weird, but up until then, I didn’t listen to much music. I could play a little bit of piano, but after Rush, I bought a bass and really wanted to sing and play bass like Geddy Lee, haha.

What’s your earliest memory of making music?

I had some piano lessons around age 13 or so, but they didn’t last long – only a few months. I can remember a recital where I played the “hardest” song in the beginner Schaum books… and I completely messed it up. I never learned to read music, and the other kids in the recital were half my age (and much better), so I was very discouraged. But when I started getting into music, at about 16, I immediately started writing. I would fill up cassette tapes with ideas, which are unlistenable now, haha, but the desire to write came quickly, and I could always come up with ideas for songs.

Which artists do you draw the most inspiration from today?

It’s always a tough question because there’s so many, of course. Recently, I really love the sovietwave, darkwave stuff, hyper-pop, anything adjacent to the Bee and Puppycat soundtrack, haha, or the RRR soundtrack! I feel really inspired by new albums from The Japanese House, The Beths, Caroline Polachek, even Weezer’s 4-album SZNZ has been a big inspiration. I really love this Czech band called Zrni. I have a lot of friends who make music and it’s really thrilling to see how they are expressing themselves and how their sound changes with each new release: Ky, Cloud Physics, Smoltz, Batty Fraud Clinic, Dizlerim Küpsis, Heights and Hollows, to name a few – all very different and always inspiring

How else do you find inspiration for your music?

I think inspiration is everywhere, really. I really love songs about abstract things that are simple and could even go unnoticed – things that are quiet and subtle. When you pause to reflect on them, it requires some patience and effort, but then you can appreciate everything a bit more.

How did you get together as a band?

Paul and Joe and I met in Nashville in 2011. We had a little bit of a different lineup back then. After that version of the band split up, we went back out for several tours with some of the members changing. Paul and Corey eventually met in New Orleans and Paul suggested inviting Corey onto our Maximum Reality tours in 2017 and 2018. It really worked out amazingly, so the new group kind of formed out of that time period and we’ve just been in touch through the years, sharing songs and planning all of this.

What do you love about your local music scene?

Well, ‘local’ is a little tough for me to answer. I live in Pardubice, Czech Republic and from there I’ve seen a lot of shows at a venue called Divadlo 29. Pardubice is a small town, but they have a really interesting scene with a lot of experimental, noise, and jazz/fusion stuff coming through. I saw a Mongolian jaw harp player completely captivate a room with just that single instrument. Right before I came back for the recordings, I got to open for DonrVetr at RC Ponorka for their CD release with a band from the neighboring town, Hradec Kralove, called Goji. They were both exceptional! At least in the shows I’ve been to there, it is very free-form, noise, experimental, improvisational, and I get the feeling that people enjoy collapsing the space between music and noise as art, and the shows are usually all ages, so it isn’t strange to be in a club with families and see this kind of performance!

New Orleans is the other local scene for us, as most of the band lives there. It would be impossible to describe how vast and exciting that scene is. The performers are exceptional and you can see shows everywhere at any time. The people I met there gig every day all across town. I really enjoy Kevin Comarda’s music and saw him perform solo, in a band called Fruit Machines, in Community, and then in his main project the Self-Help Tapes. Same with Meschiya Lake, who has a variety of folk and traditional projects, along with her own take on a genre like ‘dream country’. I saw the Preservation Hall Band play a couple times and all kinds of variations on the second-line style of tribal brass music which pops up spontaneously around the French Quarter is really incredible. New Orleans also has great indie-pop and psychedelic music in the Strange Daisy records’ family, Community Records, and even a revival of ska/punk in bands like Bad Operation. It is a bit intimidating and inspiring and really just blows your mind how much is out there!

What would you say is the perfect setting for listeners to enjoy your sound?

Haha, this is a good question. I’ll give an earnest answer: sweater weather, in a forest clearing, lying down, with some good headphones

How has your own style and sound evolved since you started out?

What I like to think is our style has evolved a lot from the beginning, but I’m never quite sure. If anything, we’ve become much more comfortable with pop songs that experiment with structure and style. I think we wanted ‘Grand Gestures’ to feel like it was arriving at the same time as early Promise Ring and Get Up Kids, on the backend of that first wave of emo like Sunny Day Real Estate or the Anniversary. So, it was much more deliberate in that sense. With our upcoming full-length, it’s all over the place with some very straight-forward pop, some darker folk and ambient stuff, ballads, and bigger bombastic cinematic sounds

How did you find making your new EP ‘Grand Gestures’?

We were reuniting at the beginning of 2023 after a big break and working out of Paul’s studio. So, we’re not only playing music with each for the first time in years, but we’re also catching up and sharing what we’ve been doing, slowly creating a system we can be creative in and accomplish what we want to do. So, we didn’t have the idea of ‘Grand Gestures’ right away – there was so much music to sift through and eventually around February, we committed to those five songs which could be played with just one acoustic or with a full band. In other words, they were simple songs, and perfect for what we were trying to do in the moment. It was still a bit of a whirlwind finding time between school and work, and we were tracking ‘Jupiter’ at the same time. But I think aesthetically, everything landed perfectly.

What message did you want to get across with this release?

With this release, I hope people hear something familiar and something new, like, it still sounds like us, but it’s different. And then I hope they enjoy the melodies and the energy and find something personal and interesting in the lyrics.

What artist have you been listening to most recently?

For me, it’s a tie between A.G. Cook and Anna Meredith.

What’s the main thing you want people to get out of listening to your music?

I do just want people to enjoy it, but there are some big ideas that are packed into the sound of the band as a whole. For me, this is my life and exactly what I want to be doing, and what I consider us to be doing is playing a very small part in trying to manifest a world of acceptance and love. It is a political project in that art is political, that politics is ‘how you treat people’, and that empathy and imagination are some of the greatest natural resources we all have. And this music does what it can to energize those feelings in everyone. I’m sure my answer would change a lot over time, even the next time I answer this question, but there’s definitely something of a philosophy developing underneath it all. I mean, no one knows who we are; this isn’t a manifesto or anything. It is just the band may never achieve success or stardom, but knowing that I’m devoting my life to this project, I want it all to mean something, and I would be happy knowing that a small sliver of people out there found a little bit more acceptance and love from this music.

What’s been your favourite live performance so far?

I saw my friend Daniel McCord last night and it reminded me that sometime around 2014 we played a show in Greenville at Radio Room and then went back to Daniel’s house for an after-party and around 1 or 2 am, we filmed a bunch of live acoustic stuff on his front porch for a project he called Dan Manor. We were beyond exhausted, to the point of silliness, but it was really fun – definitely one of my favorites!

Listen to Grand Gestures below