Nearly two decades since the first release in 2006, and surely thanks to an ever-evolving roster of musicians, The Winter Sounds (TWS) still sound fresh, new, and relevant. Originally started in Athens, Georgia, USA, by the sole constant, frontman Patrick Keenan, TWS is now a multi-national group based in Prague. Their upcoming album promises to be a mixture of “bedroom pop, retrowave, and fuzz-pop/hyper-pop elements”, a sound they call solarpunk. But the band says this is not just a sound, but an entire ethos of sustainable post-capitalism. Elevating their music upon these ideals only adds to TWS’s relevance in today’s music scene.
The first single, “Feel Your Touch”, is a three-and-a-half-minute, synth-driven tour de force. Older heads might recall classic synthpop like Erasure or The Human League, mixed with more modern offerings – you can almost imagine a collaboration between The War on Drugs and The Weeknd. Inspired by a real-life brush with death, the lyrics are urgent, with Keenan’s voice delivering the story with impeccable melodies. The beat is uptempo and constantly pushing forward, which increases the urgency, while also being eminently danceable. The guitar in the bridge is restrained, adding exactly what is needed. It is really a flawless song.
“Feel Your Touch” is out now on streaming services and will be on the band’s seventh studio album, titled Jupiter, coming out in September 2025. If the rest of the album is as good as this single, listeners are in for a treat. You can check out TWS’s catalog on Bandcamp and follow them on Instagram or Bluesky.
Written by Dylan Steele
