By: Dave Allan Guzda
Winkie | website | facebook | twitter | bandcamp |
Released on February 19, 2016 via American Primitive
tl;dr : an unrelenting and unforgiving assault of apocalyptic, ugly, neurotic… *glorious* noise rock aggression.
One of my favourite bands from the 90s is Curve. They had an incredibly distinctive and powerful sound. Heavy drums, lots of percussion and impenetrable walls of droning madness that was all anchored around the stunning vocals of Toni Halliday. It was the perfect balance of beauty and the beast. I’ve longed for something to come along and fill that sound void in my playlist. I can safely say that New York City’s Winkie have finally done so. Their second release continues the edgy noise their début One Day We Pretended To Be Ghosts introduced me to. The duo’s new release is named Come to my Party and oh what a party it is.
Winkie describe themselves as : “A cheerless desolate soundtrack for the desperate.” “Not here to bring you rainbows.” and “The Sound of Drowning…“. I agree. This music would make pop music cower. Winkie’s sound is steeped in an unsettling swirl of menacing drone and electronic buzzsaws that offer only a glimmers of light found within Gina’s haunting vocals. The album is an unrelenting and unforgiving assault of noise rock aggression. Winkie articulate this grim tapestry of sound well.
The opening cut ‘I Will Not Weep For Any Throne You Fall From’ immediately sets the tone for the album. Its clatter of percussion has a sinister metallic edge like drums from a conquering alien species. As the drums march forward, Gina’s vocals try to rise above shrill drone but even they become stretched and consumed into the violent aural turbulence. The song oozes a fantastic kalidascope of smouldering sonic hopelessness. Winkie’s unique percussive tones also take centre stage on the next track ‘Tasting My Heart For The First Time’. The angry snare sounds like an angry drunk trying to kick down a metal door. The low end of the song has a striking deep bellow like an ominous viking battle horn. The parts combine for some serious darkwave/doom gaze magic that sounds great cranked. It may be responsible for the “for sale” sign on my neighbour’s lawn. *cough*
The slightly less manic tracks such as “Chaperone” and “Paper Tiger” still possess an sharp undercurrent of oppressive and dismal tones. ‘Paper Tiger’ has Gina sounding strangely calm, even momentarily optimistic as the musical world around her implodes, crumbles and collapses. The atmospheres and soundscapes that Winkie conjures up evoke shattered futuristic worlds where dark science fiction and human ruin collide. This is evident on tracks like ‘RUINED.’ and ‘At Night They Dreamed Of Revenge’. ‘RUINED.’ with its downtuned industrial thumps and the bassy droning fury that echoes like a crude cyborg weapon. ‘At Night They Dreamed Of Revenge’ with its apocalyptic, ugly, neurotic, glorious noise and biting bassline. The vocals appear to be another layer trying to claw out from the tumultuous cacophony which only heightens its discord.
Come to my Party. Hmm. I’m trying to imagine the party where this album would be played. I see dark shadowed walls, that are scratched and cracked, intermittent strobe lights flickering, broken furniture, shattered glass and heads thrashing wildly as bodies groove entranced by the auditory bombardment. This album isn’t for everyone. However, those who like to bask in industrial, edgy, noise will certainly want to get on the guestlist for Winkie’s impressive post-punk party. The album is frantic, disturbing and will gash you again and again with its harrowing abrasiveness and sonic shelling.
Drowning never sounded so good.
