Even when it’s great, a reliable sound can be a burden for a working band constantly pushing against an expected framework of their own creation. In the case of Halifax natives Wintersleep, however, there’s something lively and reassuring about their idiosyncratic contribution to pop-infused space rock. Some 15 years after forming, they continue to surprise listeners with each record.
Singer Paul Murphy, for one, transforms himself from song to song. The robotic processing of his voice on Santa Fe turns a post-punk, contemporary U2-like pop song into an urgent, alien dispatch. An infectious, rubbery guitar part anchors the next song, Lifting Cure, with Murphy’s replicated voice conjuring the Gibb brothers as he digs into the gritty dance track.
Ballady, underground folk, like on Shadowless, counterbalances the rock-out moments, while electronic pulses are deployed for Love Lies. It all adds up to a dynamic, contemporary blast of rock that feels customized for the half-real, half-digital realms many of us spend most of our time in.
Top track: Freak Out
Wintersleep play Lee’s Palace on Friday (March 4). See listing.
