The Long Winters never fail to remind me of my college years for a handful of reasons. Putting The Days To Bed was released during my senior year of high school and was a mainstay during that summer as well as my freshman year in the Francisco Torres dorm rooms (6th floor represent!) at UC Santa Barbara, serving as sort of a supporting cast member in my journey from boy to a man. I’ve always appreciated lead singer and lyricist John Roderick for his sardonic wit, unique off-the-cuff observations about life, and his mastery of the Indie songwriter storytelling craft. There’s so many witty lines on this album I love that has stuck with me over time– just a few of them below:
- Don’t toast the day before the twilight (“Pushover”)
- If you’re trying to feel the wind, well that’s a window you’re pressed against (“Hindsight”)
- You never told me your secrets so I guess they stayed safe with me (“Hindsight”)
- False prophecy doesn’t mean prophecies are true (“Clouds”)
- Don’t try to write your name in the clouds from the ground (“Clouds”)
- When you dream of your acre of trees it was agreed I came to burn leaves. It’s all I ever claimed to do, a plowman I’ll never grow into (“Ultimatum”)
- It’s familiar, but not too familiar (“(It’s A) Departure”)
- I like the old days, but not all the old days, only the good old days (“(It’s A) Departure”)
- Did you see me the way I imagined, every eyelash a picket or a wire, did you tease me when I went out of fashion? (“Seven”)
As you can tell The Long Winters specialize in a specific type of song craft, one that’s sort of intellectual in a college professor sort of way. There are idioms that get flipped on their head, quirky little observations, and a prose that’s more literary than your standard lyrics. It’s a trait that keeps me coming back to this album.
Standout Songs: “Pushover”, “Hindsight”, “Clouds”, “(It’s a) Departure”
