Could We Believe In Magic? is another weirdly wonderful Winning album... It seems like the band is going in two opposite directions on this, their sophomore release. On the one hand sugar- sweeet pop hooks emerge powerfully on this record -- catchy melodies abound and sound better and better on repeat listens.
On the other hand, it's clear these guys have been living in Vancouver a while because they are clearly sinking further and further into the depths of free-improv depravity that has claimed so many musicians in that city. Tons of skronk, skree and general malfeasance is splattered all over the record, sounding like a fire music trio spent an hour exploding in the studio while the tape was running.
The fact that the band is tearing itself between these two ostensibly polar opposites is what makes their sound so delightfully complex and just plain fucked. And speaking of fucking, Andy Dixon's album art takes a sexual turn this time out, in place of the political collages that adorned the band's first release. The art reminds me a bit of the tortured drawings of sadly obscure artist and one-time Fishpiss and Left Hip contributor Joey Hale, whose name I haven't heard in a good ten years.... I guess there's a sex and relationships concept at work here but you'd never know it from a glance at the lyric booklet which by comparison makes even Destroyer read like Dick and Jane. Truth be told, the lyrics do bear a certain 'critical yet poetically incomprehensible' resemblance to those of their sneering, malcontent Vancouver compatriot.
Jack Duckworth is gone for this release, replaced on guitar by Gregory Adams. Paul Patko remains on drums as well as Andy Dixon on vocals and guitar. Dixon's song "Weight Weight" here also appears on his new solo album The Mice of Mt Career and lends a title to a new art book he's recently released.
Winning continues to be an awesome band. I didn't get into this record as quickly at first like I did with This Is An Ad For Cigarettes, but the more I listen to it, the better and better it sounds as the various layers start to come into focus -- the melodies emerge, the improv starts to makes sense in context and it becomes clear that this is a major step forward for the band. Brilliant, forward-thinking music that would (should?) be as appealing to free-improv fans as to fans of indie-rock.
