the Winter Passing - Demo - CD (2012)

Labels: self released
Review by: MH

This band come from the Irish Midlands and appear to be named after either a film starring Zooey Deschanel or a song by Taking Back Sunday. Although I haven’t seen it, I remain hopeful that they are named after the film. They have boy/girl vocals throughout and I like the raw, poppy sound they have that is part indie rock, part punk. The Irish accents in the vocals stand out. The first song is particularly good – the wistful and melancholy “Crooks”. It reminds me slightly of The Get Up Kids, as do their lyrical themes. The demo is quite poppy overall and all four tracks are at least quite good. I guess they remind me a bit of a lighter version of Tigers Jaw at times too. This demo was recorded in 2010 and for all I know they have since gone on to sign to a major label and are selling out arenas having moved into soft rock. A promising start and worth a listen if you like some of the poppier indie/punk bands going around right now.