Wintermitts

Since forming in 2005, Wintermitts have delighted and accumulated loyal fans across Canada. Their last album, Cascadia Fault (2007), was released independently in Canada to massive appeal, and with their whimsical exuberance they have shared the stage with acts such as Julie Doirion, You Say Party!We Say Die! and Laura Barret. They completed a national summer tour in 2007 and were featured at Sackville, New Brunswick’s famous SappyFest. In Autumn 2008, they continue their path of merrymaking, as featured artists at the Western Canadian Music Association Showcase and traveling on a cross-country tour promoting their new album, Heirloom.

Boasting a bilingual set and a “musical chairs” approach to instrumentation, Heirloom was produced by Shawn Cole (You Say Party!We Say Die!) and co-produced by Futcher (The Be Good Tanyas). Live or recorded, Lise Monique intertwines English and French lyrics with the ease of elementary school girls braiding each other’s hair in Canada’s schoolyards, while the accompanying music pulls you to your feet or keeps your eyes on the stage. Listeners beware: some tracks on this latest Wintermitts effort will cause a head-nodding hypnosis while others still will leave you wishing you understood French, or with the desire to plant a tree in your front yard.

To ensure that your love for this band will keep growing long after your initial listen, Wintermitts have committed to affecting a crowd on a platform greater than the width of a stage by including a seed packet for Heirloom tomatoes in with the CD – which can grow in most climates of Canada. “We wanted to include something that people can actually see change as a way of educating and promoting personal horticultural awareness,” Lise Monique says. Heirloom’s CD packaging itself is green-friendly and resembles the design of a seed packet. In doing so, Wintermitts strut their West Coast eco-sensibility and provide listeners with music as well as a science project in which there is no danger of a failing grade.

Although they purport to wear different styles of underwear, Wintermitts members are united on the front of sharing handclaps and gang vocals to move you onto the dance floor. Keep an admiring eye on them, as if they were a kaleidoscope; as Wintermitts continue to be held up to the spotlight, their music produces a pleasing, aural spectacle of the most brilliant colours and shapes. Recommended!

Wintermitts - DANS
Wintermitts - Crossing Bridges
Wintermitts - Schoolyard
Wintermitts - Ghost Note
Wintermitts @ MySpace

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