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The Winter Tree "Earth Below" feat. Mattias Olsson
The new album by The Winter Tree, "Earth Below" is now available. It features Mattias Olsson (Anglagard, White Willow, Necromonkey) on drums and percussion and was mixed by Jacob Holm-Lupo (White Willow, Opium Cartel), as well as the return of singer/lead guitarist Mark Bond. It can be purchased at Kinesis (www.kinesiscd.com), Synphonic (http://synphonic.8m.com/), and Garden Shed in Japan (http://www.gardenshedcd.com/). It can also be purchased from the band's official website (http://www.thewintertreeband.com/Song_Samples.html).
The artwork is by Quebecois artist Claude Martin, who did the painting featured on the UNIFAUN reissue seen from the recent Steve Hackett Genesis Revisited merchandise tables.
For song samples:
http://www.thewintertreeband.com/Song_Samples.html
https://soundcloud.com/andrew-laitres/plank
https://soundcloud.com/andrew-laitre...ousand-futures
Last edited by the winter tree; 08-17-2015 at 11:33 AM.
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I'm always interested in new music from Andrew et als so will check out the camples from home. For those here who are not familiar with Andrew's band that "morped into" The Winter Tree, it was MAGUS, and Andrew put out some great discs with that project. My wife and I had the pleasure of seeing Magus twice live on their home turf (Brattleboro VT), which leads me to a question for Andrew. I was in Brattleboro this weekend and whenever I'm there, of course I hit Turn It Up (record store) as the store is larger than ours here in 'Hamp...why am I not able to walk into TIU in Brattleboro and buy your discs? They offer, I believe, consignment for local artists and I tend to buy more in brick & Mortar stores (which we're fortunate to have several of here in 'Hamp) than online...
Regardless, I have always enjoyed Andrew' s projects and they deserve wider exposure. Getting the music in shops might help!
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Hi Rick! I'm thinking of approaching them (Turn It Up) to sell our albums. Hope all is well with you...
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Highly recommended! Andrew is one of those valuable artists who could give a shit about current trends - he follows his own vision. If prog had more people like Andrew it wouldn't be the dismal genre it mostly is these days. No whiney, depressed PT-vibes or derivative neo-prog here, but colorful, vibrant, catchy, thoughtful and well-executed prog-informed rock.
J.
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Here is a video of our song "The Light" created by my friend Tasos in Greece.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaBPNmn-LQo
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Here is the Sea of Tranquility review of "Earth Below" :
Winter Tree, The: Earth Below
I have been fortunate to have heard every Winter Tree album released so far and have not been disappointed yet. In what has been a very busy couple of years for Andrew Laitres, it seems fitting to cap it off with a new album. Earth Below is another fine release and will be a must have if you are a fan of the band.
Laitres has done it a little differently this time getting Jacob Holm-Lupo (Opium Cartel, White Willow) to mix the album in his Norwegian studio. Jacob also adds guitar and synths on a few tracks. Laitres also enlisted the help of Mattias Olsson (ex-Anglagard, White Willow, Necromonkey) who adds drums and percussion. Rounding out the lineup is previous contributor Mark Bond (vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, steel guitar) and Baiba Kranate (vocals on track 8).
Earth Below has everything you would expect from the band; solid lead vocals, beautiful keyboard soundscapes and melodic guitar with some nice solos scattered throughout. This is a very dreamlike album and Laitres has just the right singing style to hook the listener in. There are some real nice vocal melodies throughout the disc.
The opening tune "Plank" is one of the catchiest with the keyboard melody reminding me of Supertramp. The title track is absolutely beautiful with softly hued instrumentation and a dramatic backdrop of dreamy keyboard sounds. "Twilight" is another melodic gem with a Parson's feel while the album ending "A Thousand Futures" is probably the prettiest offering with lovely backing vocals and gently played keys and synths.
For me, the album's best song is "The World Upon Her Shoulders" highlighted with bluesy lead guitar and darkly lit orchestrations having a foreboding tone.
My only gripe is the album's length. At about forty minutes it is pretty short by today's standards. It would have been nice to have included a couple more tracks. Keep in mind this is a minor complaint as I will take quality over quantity any day of the week.
The Winter Tree have come out with another fabulous set of tunes of gently played symphonic art rock that just might gain a few fans if given half the chance. Another job well done from Mr. Laitres and company.
Track Listing:
1. Plank (6:48)
2. Earth Below (6:40)
3. Writing On The Wall (4:02)
4. The World Upon Her Shoulders (6:21)
5. The Garden Of Love (3:01)
6. The Light (4:00)
7. Twilight (4:56)
8. A Thousand Futures (4:18)
Added: September 25th 2015
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:****
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Aussie-Byrd-Brother
Special Collaborator
Rock Progressivo Italiano Team
4 stars Andrew Laitres and the returning Mark Bond are back with the fourth album to appear under the Winter Tree banner, `Earth Below', and what a beautifully performed collection it is! Mostly ditching the New-Age and softer ambient electronics of the easy-to-enjoy previous album `Twilight of the Magicians', the pair this time collaborate with White Willow members Jacob-Holm Lupo and Mattias Olsson (also ex-Anglagard and current Walrus drummer) to craft a series of carefully composed pieces that, despite the actual tunes being the main priority, are still full of precisely executed instrumental qualities of great taste. This forty minute vinyl length work will appeal to more open- minded progressive rock listeners, as well as holding plenty of crossover appeal for those who simply appreciate great tunes played with skill and restraint.
Strangely, the disc opens with the most commercial piece `Plank', which, with lead vocalist Andrew's catchy melody and the proggy synth fills carefully grafted to a strong accessible tune, wouldn't have sounded out of place on any Alan Parsons Project album (bonus points for the Beatle-esque interludes too!). The title track `Earth Below' instantly calls to mind the reflective melancholy of White Willow (even though those above mentioned guests are not actually on this particular piece!), the dreamy group harmonies, drowsy slide guitar, looming synth drama and gentle piano perfectly balancing warm heart and sombre moods, and the instrumental outro is a thing of great beauty. `Writing on the Wall' teases with eerie ghostly electric piano, but the piece quickly bursts into up-tempo energy with a crashing beat, gutsy guitar and a boisterous vocal.
`The World Upon her Shoulders' is all bluesy electric guitar simmers and tasty jazzy electric piano with a moody middle, `The Garden of Love' turns a William Blake poem into a pleasant Hogarth- era Marillion type piece, and `The Light' could have almost landed on a Neal Morse solo album with its hopeful lyric and gliding sighing harmonies over comforting acoustic and slide guitar. `Twilight' jumps up and down in tempo with urgent orchestral-like synths, a propulsive beat and a catchy chorus, and with its smooth male/female lead vocal, trilling synths, confident piano and victorious organ, `A Thousand Futures' is a joyful and reassuring album closer.
Andrew Laitres offers on `Earth Below' an unapologetically melodic work refreshingly at odds with any nonsense ideas of current musical trends or even what is expected when something is applied to the `prog rock' tag. Smart tunes, enjoyable melodies and exquisite instrumental framings holding them make `Earth Below' pretty much a perfect example of how worthy crossover styles of prog- rock can be when delivered this well, and those who enjoy prog that prizes strong song-writing over overblown show-off instrumental excess will be impressed here. It will likely also appeal to those who don't like the more heavy-going self-indulgence of a lot of prog rock, so fellas, here's one your lady might really like too, so enjoy listening to it together!
Four stars.
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"Earth Below" is now available for digital download at CDBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/thewintertree2
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