Winter Pageant
Winter Pageant | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1997 | |||
Genre | Indie rock | |||
Label | K Records[1] | |||
The Softies chronology | ||||
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Winter Pageant is an album by the American indie rock band the Softies, released in 1997.[2][3]
Production[]
The album was recorded without a rhythm section, with one or two guitars as accompaniment.[4][5]
Critical reception[]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin | 7/10[4] |
Martin C. Strong | 5/10[7] |
Entertainment Weekly wrote that "Jen Sbragia and Rose Melberg ... strum and twang guitars while delicately harmonizing, their lovely vocals masking bitter lyrics about broken relationships."[8] CMJ New Music Monthly thought that Melberg and Sbragia's voices "are complementary, but there's a cool space between them: a graceful austerity that creates some of the record's most sublime moments."[9] The Oregonian decided that "the Softies are saved from being mired between the twin evils of cutesy candy-coating and abject despair by a queer note of hope found in even their saddest stories."[10]
Spin called the album "music for indoor introverts—solitary souls who still write letters."[4] The Washington Post opined that it "combines '50s lounge music melodies with the '60s pop-rock harmonies of Softie Rose Melberg's previous band, the ebullient Tiger Trap."[5] The Lincoln Journal Star deemed Winter Pageant "deeply honest confessions of lost love, broken promises and lives adrift, set in quiet songs that are near lullabies, but have a lasting power."[11]
AllMusic wrote that "despite the melancholy tone, there is something hopeful in the Softies' resignation, a faith in perfect moments that is as strong as the knowledge of love's frailty."[6]
Track listing[]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Pack Your Things and Go" | |
2. | "So Sad" | |
3. | "Over" | |
4. | "No One at All" | |
5. | "Tracks and Tunnels" | |
6. | "Excellent" | |
7. | "My Foolish Way" | |
8. | "The Best Days" | |
9. | "Fortune" | |
10. | "Splintered Hands" | |
11. | "About You" | |
12. | "Anywhere But Here" | |
13. | "Winter Pageant" | |
14. | "Make Up Your Mind" |
Personnel[]
- Rose Melberg
- Jen Sbragia
References[]
- ^ Baumgarten, Mark (July 10, 2012). "Love Rock Revolution: K Records and the Rise of Independent Music". Sasquatch Books – via Google Books.
- ^ "Softies Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
- ^ Bresnark, Robin (Jan 25, 1997). "Winter Pageant". Melody Maker. 74 (4): 40.
- ^ a b c Huston, Johnny (Mar 1997). "Spins". Spin. 12 (12): 102, 104.
- ^ a b Jenkins, Mark (19 Mar 1997). "The Softies". The Washington Post. p. D7.
- ^ a b "Winter Pageant - Softies | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
- ^ Strong, Martin C. (2003). The Great Indie Discography (2nd ed.). Canongate. p. 1030.
- ^ "Winter Pageant". EW.com.
- ^ Clayton, Liz (Apr 1997). "Reviews". CMJ New Music Monthly (44): 42.
- ^ Foyston, John (February 28, 1997). "SIMPLE SONGS OF LOVE AND LOSS". The Oregonian. ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT. p. 40.
- ^ Wolgamott, L. Kent (9 Mar 1997). "The Grammys are over, now it's critics' turn". Lincoln Journal Star. p. 10.
- 1997 albums
- K Records albums