http://indiemusicnews.info/album-review-weloveyouwinona-get-happy/
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We Love you Winona – review of “Get
Happy” - A Russian four piece from Moscow.
Their first album
“Get happy” is out now.
Ivan Malezhik (vocals)
Ilja Granny Smith (bass)
Gleb Shaprynsky (drums)
Dmitry Spivakovsky (guitar)
Ilja Granny Smith (bass)
Gleb Shaprynsky (drums)
Dmitry Spivakovsky (guitar)
Interestingly enough the band say their name was due to a scene from the movie " Girl, Interrupted "with Winona Ryder
Track Listing
1.
Feel a little
Better
2.
Anyway
3.
Evening Mantra
4.
Well Done
5.
Sadness Season
6.
Stop looking
around
7.
Right Here
8.
Way Out
9.
Get Happy
10.
Were is my home
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The overall feel of the album is a little
depressive to be honest, the lead singer, seems to be going through a multitude
of feelings that I can only describe as S.A.D
He has this amazing quality, expressiveness in his voice that pulls you in and probes deep into your heart making you feel what he is feeling. Whether that’s good or bad is another matter.
He has this amazing quality, expressiveness in his voice that pulls you in and probes deep into your heart making you feel what he is feeling. Whether that’s good or bad is another matter.
Stand out tracks for me were – “Anyway”, “Sadness Season”,
“Right Here”, “Way Out” and “Where is my home”, predominantly because they made
me feel part of the story and secondly because they were less 80s influenced
than the other tracks.
The other songs on the album, sounded like album
fillers in my opinion. As I said before the album feels like a story and I can
understand most of the track listings however to put “Feel a little better” as the first track is a big mistake.
The song just isn’t strong enough to pull you in and get you hooked enough to make you want to listen to the rest of the tracks. If you add some off key female vocals into the first song you have an 80s band called “Deacon Blue”. If I’d borrowed this CD and listened to the first song I wouldn’t necessarily have listened to the rest. It just didn’t grab me!.
The song just isn’t strong enough to pull you in and get you hooked enough to make you want to listen to the rest of the tracks. If you add some off key female vocals into the first song you have an 80s band called “Deacon Blue”. If I’d borrowed this CD and listened to the first song I wouldn’t necessarily have listened to the rest. It just didn’t grab me!.
Big thumbs up to the production though and also
good vocals. They don’t go over the top like some stuff I’ve heard recently.
Although why only say you will sing in English if
you’re Russian (don’t you know singing in a different language is sexy) . Are
you not patriotic?
A stand out song for me is “Sadness Season”. The song starts with a very familiar guitar riff,
so familiar it gets me thinking were have I heard that before - got it, it’s a “ Stevie Nick’s “ song “Edge of Seventeen”.
So I’ve listened to this song three times now and I like it. It’s catchy and happy in a sad kind of way. Interestingly enough when you look up “Sadness Season” on the web it talks about seasonal affective disorder (SAD), or winter depression. Makes you wonder if the writer has been affected by this and has tried to break free from this disorder in creating this album.
So I’ve listened to this song three times now and I like it. It’s catchy and happy in a sad kind of way. Interestingly enough when you look up “Sadness Season” on the web it talks about seasonal affective disorder (SAD), or winter depression. Makes you wonder if the writer has been affected by this and has tried to break free from this disorder in creating this album.
Another standout track is “Anyway”. This is a much softer acoustic track and lends itself
easier to the ear. Within the background of the verses you are treated to some
very subtle oral chemistry. The song then launches into almost a Damien Rice type chorus, with all guns
blazing. Again there is an interesting sound effect on the start of the chorus,
almost like a ricochet type sound. The vocals also sound like they are going
slightly out of tune in the verse, (perhaps that’s deliberate and arty, who
knows, however in this case it’s not necessarily a bad thing!). Overall Ivan
has an amazing vocal range. I personally would have liked this track to stay as
a true acoustic with a cello beneath. If this had been the opening track I
would have been more intrigued and wanted to listen further.
Although there is no information, if this is to be
released as a physical CD, the packaging could be important and help tell the
story of the album. This could increase the interest of some of the more characterless
tracks
To intrigue you further, take a look at “Leap of Faith” a short film about the band - which I found on You
Tube. You’ll see what I mean with regards to how the singer is feeling. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfPFsM8uoGs&feature=relmfu
Overall this album would make a good addition to
anyone’s CD collection, though it may get left on the shelf a little more often
than some of the others. But it is a grower.
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