Bon Iver vibes begin the new album by Charleston, SC’s Ginger Winn, but she’s got much more than that up her sleeve. Now based in Kingston, NY, the singer-songwriter creates tech-flecked alt-country pop that is peppered throughout with beats, loops, and synths. It’s chock-full of character, and it bubbles with spirit and introspection.
The album begins with Escape – a prior single – which reminds us of The Weepies as it starts. It veers in due course into poppier The People’s Key-era Bright Eyes territory and at times even touches on pop princess Olivia Rodrigo. It relies a little heavily on the “except me” lyric towards the end, but the song is strong and is an excellent start to the album. It sets the tone excellently.
Track two is Pants On Fire where she sings about growing up to “be a pretty good liar”. Yes, she definitely reminds us of Taylor Swift, but she has an undeniable added edge. The second verse features a deep, cello-like sound that is boomy and dark, providing some much-needed shade to the otherwise rather light-sounding song.
Hyperallergic is up next, and the acoustic riff feels a bit like All Along The Watchtower, which is, of course, fantastic. This song sounds like it was made to be a single, bellowed by over-stimulated audiences in fields across the world. There’s also a touch of Hozier here in the grandiose way it builds and a little bit of The Lumineers in the instrumentation. It’s definitely made for the masses.
The early instrumentation on Cold Plunge is almost Alabama Shakes-like. As the song progresses, the vocals build to eventually remind us of “Army Of Birds” by Gaggle. By the end of the song, it has a synthy and squelchy quality that, surprisingly, brings to mind some of the instrumentation from the Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse soundtrack. She also seems to channel Garbage a little bit here and maybe a bit of a more subdued Florence Welch.
“You can die young or you can grow old”, Ginger sings on the intro of Chaos & Perfection, and there’s definitely an old-head-on-young-shoulders vibe about her songwriting. Perhaps it’s due in part to her songwriter parent? Whatever the reason, this particular song shimmers with all the charm of the aforementioned Swift’s best moments, produced by Dessner. This certainly could’ve been lifted from Evermore.
Socrates follows and brings the Bon Iver vibes back with glitchy electronic elements lurking behind a subtle electric guitar. When the rest of the instruments kick in, the song is much more understated than we thought it would be in a good way. It’s tasteful. It would have been easy to go overblown after the quiet introduction, but this is classically executed pop perfection.
Train is atmospheric and eerie. The vibes here are, again, very Taylor. More Midnights than Evermore now, though with a bit more attitude and added sass. The “you need to slow down” lyric conjures memories of “you need to calm down”, and similarly to Ms. Swift, the earlier country essence is completely eschewed for this song. It’s another single in waiting.
Not You is a dreamy, melancholy-sounding piece centred around what sounds like an interrogation of an ex-lover who has perhaps moved on a little too fast for the protagonist’s liking. It brings to mind the quieter work of megastars Haim – the melody is catchy without being cheesy (it’s a little reminiscent of “Mad World”) and the vocals are nuanced and vulnerable yet not lacking power.
Scenes From A Wake is an electro-pop, not unlike the fantastic Au Revoir Simone. It’s ethereal and dreamlike, hazy and full of personality. Reminiscent of CHVRCHES, the instrumentation is massive and anthemic. It definitely soars in the chorus, but is tempered by the more restrained verses. Similarly, to Socrates’ earlier example, it never flies too close to the sun. It has just the right amount of bombast. Again, the Bright Eyes influence rears its head – the backing instrumentation sounds like it could’ve been pulled from the Digital Ash in a Digital Urn sessions (which is, of course, a classic album, so that’s no bad thing).
Glass Rib Cage begins the album’s third act, and very quickly it takes a sharp left into acoustictown after initially continuing with the synths that ended the preceding track. As it develops, it becomes poppier, with a steady beat and characterful, fuzzy lead guitar lines, as well as interesting vocal interplay, including a staccato delivery in the pre-chorus. It’s a nice change of pace and a welcome addition to the album as a whole. It’s followed by Circling Squares, which takes the pace back down again and is as country-feeling as the album has been for a while (likely due to the slide guitar). There’s still that edge here, though, and the spirit of Nebraska’s finest continues to permeate the record. The brass reminds us of “I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning” as well as aspects of their earlier work. Freezing follows, and it’s the shortest song on the album. It’s rather synthpop-y, but with a decidedly post-punk/New Order feel driving the bassline. Main Character Syndrome reminds us of Death Cab at first (specifically The Photo Album era), and the song develops a 90s-esque vibe as it evolves. The final track, Blizzard, is a folky number in keeping with the classic “Blues Run The Game.”
All in all, this is an accomplished record that is brimming with confidence and competence. The tonal variety throughout keeps it fresh, and based on the amount it offers, you’d be hard-pressed not to find something to appreciate here.
Ginger has several US tour dates scheduled. Catch here while you can. Details here.
Written by Kinda Grizzly
