A journey through the rock ages
Winterville were formed in late 2003, and are making a name for themselves across the world, Japan and Holand are two countries where they have had a real impact so far. Their influences are vast and varied, from sixties blues, through seventies classic rock and early nineties grunge to the up-to-date contempory British rock of the twenty first century.
There is a bit of all of that spread throughout this record, many a traditional guitar solo, powerful yet melancholic vocals which were all the rage in American rock fifteen years ago and the creative skill to write a great tune. The noticeable and satisfying thing about the vocals is that, although in a number of places this is a pretty heavy rock record, at no point do they stray into the often over used area of shouts, screams and uninteligable growling. When done well that style of singing, for want of a better term, is very effective, sadly too often it can just sound crap!
The lead single 'Breathe' is a full on rock album opener, not unlike Muse as far as it's perfect meet between the heavy and melodic. Vocally it's a mix between the early nineties American grunge sound, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, but with a bit of Muse thrown in to give it that contempory edge. This is a cracking album opener and makes for an excellent single.
There is more of a funkiness about 'My Angels', think the most commercial end of Audioslave combined with the seventies rock influenced sound which the Darkness have used to the full. The only disappointing part about this track is that it fades, giving it that unfinished feel.
During the chorus of 'Mock Halo' Winterville are at their heaviest, however the verses see an eighties influence creep in, certainly in terms of the bass line. Despite the range of influences which are evident up to this point, there was always the danger that Winterville may get set into a heavy rock pattern, so the softer sound of 'Mr. 3 Percent' is a welcome change in tone. This track is reminiscent of the acoustic work of Alice in Chains. That band had the most incredible harmonies, and Winterville offer up some of their own. The sixties blues side of their influences can be found on this track.
The next couple have that softer verse, heavier chorus combination and are perfectly harmless but don't capture the imagination in the same way as some of the earlier tracks do. The variety is a consistant factor throughout as 'Idle Hands' is another which comes from a blues influenced foundation and is another softer song.
As we approach the end of the record, 'Penny For The Fool' gives us one final adrenalin rush in a Muse style, before, and this doesn't come as a great surprise, 'Someday Soon' is a softer number to round off proceedings.
As a title, 'Everything In Moderation' is very appropriate as Winterville will take you on a journey, through the ages and across many sub divisions of the genre we call rock. At no point does it sound like they're trying to be too clever, and it merely suggests they do what all sensible music fans do, like a bit of this and a bit of that.