The rock crew known as the Wrong
Windows have released their highly awaited debut LP, “Days of
Yore.” The full-length album has been proudly published on the
Quagmire (Sparky) Productions, Inc. independent music label. It
comprises five original tracks and three cover tunes, one each from
the Helium, PJ Harvey, and Divinyls repertoires, for an approximate
total listening time of 40 minutes. Evocative, groovy, occasionally
sentimental and often full of sonic optimism, “Days of Yore” from
the Wrong Windows is an alternative-rock record with a ton of
character and all the heart and soul in the world.
The Wrong Windows is a rock project
informed by a kaleidoscopic variety of the world's best
singer-songwriters. Their cited influences include legends such as
Jeff Buckley, Elvis Costello, Mary's Danish, Alice In Chains, Jethro
Tull, Jack White, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin. Still, much of what
gives this male-helmed band their inimitable tone is a penchant for
the work of females in music.
Wrong Windows mastermind Billy Z. Duke
writes of this, “Chelsea Wolfe, Gemma Hayes, Sarah Slean, Fiona
Apple, and many, many more … I have a great fondness in general for
female vocals and distorted guitars, and I've integrated hundreds of
names of the women whose work has inspired me on the artwork for the
record.”
As it happens, “Days of Yore” is a
debut LP that emerged almost of its own volition.
“This project originated with a much
humbler scope,” Duke explains. “It was intended to be a quick and
dirty demo tape, just to get something released, get our band name
out there, have something to sell at shows… But as the recording
process progressed, more and more ideas began to flow in, and after a
year and a half of collaboration with the band and other musical and
visual artists in my social circle, it began to approach monolithic
status.”
As playful and casual as the album
feels to the listener, it's deceptively complex and highly textured
in terms of musical composition and lyrical depth, also.
“I would say that the album is a time
capsule of sorts, an attempt to express in artistic terms my take on
the current state of affairs in our world,” writes Duke. “As a
songwriter, I tend to create creative curricula for myself, concepts
around which I can compose material, and the Wrong Windows is perhaps
the broadest possible such concept I've yet attempted: I want to
write the 'American Standards' for the 21st Century.”
Longtime fans of rock 'n' roll and of
songwriting in general will feel paradoxical when listening to “Days
of Yore.” It manages to be both cutting edge and nostalgic at the
same time by sewing older, somewhat neglected musical threads into
new patterns. This results in uniquely creative sounds which trick
the ear into feeling somehow familiar with the material.
“Our debut album is both a throwback
and a look forward,” Duke writes, “dealing lyrically with issues
including the bittersweet temptations of nostalgia and
sentimentality, government corruption and institutionally sanctioned
discrimination, the great divide between our wishes and their
fulfillment… It's a tall order, to be sure. I could go on for
numerous paragraphs, but I know from experience that I'd be better
off finding a way to distill my message for those with less abundant
attention spans. Thus… the music!”
“Days of Yore” by the Wrong Windows
is available online worldwide. Fans of alt-rock and great songwriting
should get in early. This record is going to grow on you.
-S. McCauley
Lead Press Release Writer
www.MondoTunes.com
“Days of Yore” by the Wrong
Windows –
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