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Windsor for the Derby - Review
Mike Headley
Windsor for the Derby has recorded their most minimal and sparse album to date, but also their most engaging
Resurfacing after the demise of their label Trance Syndicate, this Austin Texas-based, studio-only band has recorded their most minimal and sparse album to date, but also their most engaging. Finding a new home on the Swans' label, the band has lost its Slint tendencies and techno beats stripping the music down to moods minus attitudes. Languid soundscapes filled with xylophones, tambourines, and vibes broaden their scope while still presenting their character mysterious aura. Tension is built while never letting loose, vocals never rise higher than a whisper, and rhythm sways like a boat on a windless day. The highlight of this record is Nico, a seven and a half minute opus filled with gorgeous reverb laded guitars and keyboards depicting a desert background, rich and arid with faint rumblings in the distance - perhaps a hopeful thunderstorm. Again, the tension and suspense act to lock in the listener to the magnetic, hypnotic beauty. Sometimes you get so caught up in it all, you have to blink hard to regain your composure and true surroundings.