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May 8, 2012

Brittney’s Occasional Choice: Wintersleep – “Nothing Is Anything (Without You)”

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North of Northwest Sound on the Sound Presents
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Seattle’s summer might still be two months away, but the summer music season has certainly begun, as evidenced by this jangly head-bopper of a love song from Halifax’s Wintersleep.

 

 

True, there are undertones of creepy – “I took my bike, I broke the lock on your door / I wanna stay if it’s alright” – but you can ignore them if that’s what you’re into and just let the simplicity of the chorus catch you. “I can’t live my life without you babe / Nothing is anything without you babe / Nothing is anything without you babe.” Summer lovin’, happens at last.

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Wintersleep plays the next Sound on the Sound Presents show at Columbia City Theater on June 1. Their fifth album, Hello Hum, comes out June 12 on Capitol/EMI.

May 12, 2010

The Besnard Lakes at The Crocodile

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North of Northwest
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Besnard Lakes ::: photo by Brittney Bush Bollay

“Don’t put those in!” the woman to my right admonished as I reached for my earplugs. “Just listen and let your mind be blown.” Her eyes displayed such an intensity of conviction that I felt compelled to obey, and tucked the plastic case back into my pocket.

Despite the possible audiological consequences, my neighbor had the right idea. The Besnard Lakes make a sound so full, so rich, so textured that it really oughtn’t be diluted with any barrier. It needs to be heard fully, and perhaps felt fully too. It needs to wrap around your head and seep into your pores.

As the fog machine obscured my view and the music carried my mind away, I entered that trancelike state I was so familiar with from listening to Are The Roaring Night at home. Live, though, the experience was twice as intense. “This is the closest I’ll ever get to going to church,” said the man on my left. Packed together in the small, foggy room, the audience transcended our day to day cares. With The Besnard Lakes as our spiritual guides, we ascended, and we flew.

Read More from Brittney about The Besnard Lakes: HERE