the jigsaw seen winterland


“The Jigsaw Seen plough a gloriously arranged and sumptuously produced
furrow, a swoon-filled noise to stave off winter blues.” THE LONDON
EVENING STANDARD


Building on the success of their critically acclaimed 2010 release
Bananas Foster, The Jigsaw Seen return this autumn with the
meticulously produced Winterland, a winter-themed song cycle showcasing
the group’s eclectic take on the seasonal concept.


THE SONGS:
The tone is set for Winterland on the opening track What About
Christmas? with pounding drums, fuzz bass, mellotron and a lyric
cautiously anticipating the heightened emotions of the coming season.
USA Today declared that the song “deserves to be part of the permanent
seasonal repertoire.” The icy mellotron continues through the
atmospheric piece that is December and the Massachusetts-via-Berlin
groove of Snow Angels Of Pigtown, imbuing the snow angels with their
own Chariots Of The Gods style mythology. A heavily reverb-soaked
baritone guitar abruptly takes the proceedings into Woman Loves The
Season, a song that recalls the chill-inducing ballads of Gene Clark.
The twelve-string cracker Candy Cane, with its thunderous bass and
drums, closes out the side with a wicked dash through a yuletide
dystopia.


Side two picks up with Circle Of Steel, a song that fits the Winterland
concept so perfectly that you’d probably be surprised to discover it’s
actually a Gordon Lightfoot song, originally appearing on his 1974
album Sundown. Christmas Behind Me sees the album’s narrator leaving
the cold weather behind and taking off for a new start with some
resignation. First Day Of The New Year attempts to resolve an uncertain
future, as a somber organ weaves it’s way through a stately
piano-driven arrangement. The listener is finally offered a release
from the frigid setting with the soaring, optimistic Dreams Of Spring,
a song that introduces a first for The Jigsaw Seen: a female choir at
the outro to bring the penultimate track home. The album closes with
Winterland’s Gone, one of the most beautiful songs The Jigsaw Seen have
recorded, showcasing a delicate mix of acoustic guitars, flute and bass
clarinet. The song looks back on the season with a nostalgic eye and
gracefully sums up the climate of Winterland.


THE PLAYERS:
The members of The Jigsaw Seen are Dennis Davison (vocals), Jonathan
Lea (guitar), Tom Currier (bass) and Teddy Freese (drums). For
Winterland, Dennis also played some rhythm guitar and keyboards while
Jonathan played bass on a few tracks. The band took advantage of Tom’s
keyboard skills, having him also play piano on four of the album’s
tracks.

Among Winterland’s many highlights is a guest appearance by rock icon
Dave Davies of The Kinks, lending his vocal talents to the band’s
version of Gordon Lightfoot’s Circle Of Steel. Dave is the subject of
the Julien Temple directed documentary Kinkdom Come which aired
recently on the BBC. Universal Music Group is currently reissuing The
Kinks’ entire catalog as two-disc deluxe editions.

Additional keyboardists on the album include Morley Bartnoff (Burning
Sensations) playing organ on three tracks and David Nolte (The Last,
Arthur Lee) handling the piano on Candy Cane.
The multi-tracked female choir at the outro of Dreams Of Spring is made
up of Kristi Callan (Wednesday Week) and Theresa O’Donoghue (Oh
Sisters).
Winterland’s Gone features woodwind players Lisa Jenio (Pussywillows,
Candypants) on flute and Kira Vollman (Non Credo) on bass clarinet.

Winterland was mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London by
distinguished recording engineer Peter Mew. Peter has engineered
sessions for Syd Barrett (The Madcap Laughs), The Beatles (Magical
Mystery Tour), Pink Floyd (Ummagumma) and countless others. His
mastering credits include David Bowie’s entire catalog.


HISTORY:
October 19, 2010 saw the release of The Jigsaw Seen’s Bananas Foster,
which received great reviews from UNCUT (UK), The Sunday Times (UK),
The Daily Mirror (UK), Blurt, Glide, Babysue, Big Takeover, Dagger,
PopMatters, All Music Guide and many others, and appeared on numerous
“Best Of 2010” lists in the US, UK, Spain, Sweden and Norway. Tracks
from the album have been featured as NPR’s “Song Of The Day” and Magnet
magazine’s “MP3 Of The Day.” The album entered the CMJ Top 200 chart in
November 2010, reaching the Top 10 at numerous radio stations in the US
and Canada, and going all the way to #1 at WSUW. Bananas Foster has
also received airplay in the UK, Japan, Australia, Spain and South
America. Other noteworthy spins include Rodney Bingenheimer (“Mayor Of
The Sunset Strip”) on KROQ in Los Angeles, Bob Harris (“The Old Grey
Whistle Test”) on BBC 2 and Grammy-winning producer Steve Lillywhite
(U2, Peter Gabriel) on his East Village Radio show.


Winterland will be released on vinyl, compact disc and download by
Vibro-phonic/BDC on Nov. 15, 2011