The Donnybrook Writing Academy

Most Likely To: tide fans over until James Murphy makes his next move.

What is it about the Montreal music scene? Just when you think you’ve drunk the last drop from Montreal’s indie music well, here comes Winter Gloves, yet another band from the Great White North’s French quarter. Winter Gloves is a foursome comprising singer Charles F., drummer Pat Sayers, Vincent Chalifour on synths, and Jean-Michel Pigeon on guitar and glockenspiel. (Glockenspiel! But no bassist). Winter Gloves is getting a fair amount of attention of late. They were part of the Paperbag Showcase at SXSW and got a shout out on Spin’s website where they offer up a cover of LCD Soundsystem’s “Someone Great.”

It’s not too surprising then that about a girl brings James Murphy to mind, but all those dry, groovy synths generate further comparisons to Franz Ferdinand or The Rakes, as well as The Postal Service (“Factories,” “Invisible”). While there are times that Winter Gloves’ lean too heavily on synths and Charles F’s vocals sound strident, robbing the music of any warmth (“I Can’t Tell You,” “The Way to Celebrate”), these less pleasant moments are balanced by songs that teem with joy and lift the listener, as if from the solar plexus (“About a Girl,” “Hillside”).

“Party People,” the album’s true center, unites the riffs, the synthetic handclaps, and the catchy vox (“Cause Party people need sweet echo / Sweet echo echo echo ”) in one neat package. Pigeon’s guitar riff drills into the section of the brain that will involuntarily hum a tune at a moment’s notice. But he’s actually simultaneously wailing, yes, wailing, on the glockenspiel. I’d love to see him play this song live.

While about a girl isn’t going to survive on heavy rotation longer than a few weeks, Winter Gloves did create an entertaining record that leaves me hopeful to hear what the band might do next, if they choose to free themselves from the clutches of their influences.

Listen to “Let Me Drive” from Winter Gloves:

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