Mountain Views News          Saturday, June 23, 2012

10

ARTS & ENTERTAIMENT

 Mountain Views News Saturday June 23, 2012 


SEAN’S SHAMELESS 

REVIEWS: 


The Book Report

By Jeff Brown

Review By Sean Kayden

WINTERSLEEP

 Canadian indie rock aficionados, Wintersleep, have released their fifth 
studio LP, “Hello Hum”. In the grand scheme of things, to call the former Juno Awards recipients 
of the “Best New Group Of The Year” merely an indie rock band would be a misconception. 
They’ve dabbled with hardcore guitars, synth pop, and experimental art rock in the past and 
present. Given the music they create, it comes with the territory for Wintersleep to have been 
compared to numerous bigger acts such as Fleet Foxes, The National and small traces in the 
vocal department resembling Paul Banks of Interpol. However, at the end of the day and all 
comparisons aside, Wintersleep possess a distinguishing and authentic sound. It may not always 
resonate with the listener, but will have them 
overwhelmed with their emotive form of 
artistry.

 

 Paul Murphy is a vivid storyteller with 
vocals of solace, but some of Wintersleep’s songs 
take awhile to get rolling. You can’t simply base 
judgment on a track without giving it a listen 
entirely through. Most songs here will take you 
on a joyous ride or have one become utterly lost in reverie. “Hello Hum” is irrefutably the group’s 
most experimental record. The record kicks off with “Hum,” a heavy synth track with this sort 
of rattling and crashing background noise in the beginning that gently eases into this stunning, 
romantic opening track. On track two, “In Came The Flood,” is where the real magic comes alive. 
If any song is going to put Wintersleep on the map, this is it. It’s an alternative radio friendly 
song, but not derivative by any means. It’s a rapturous, full of energy song with a multitude of 
layered guitars riffs. It’s the clear-cut winner for the best song off “Hello Hum”. “Resuscitate” is a 
close second. The aforementioned song is a lively, bouncy tune that’s a rush of blood straight to 
your head. I find that with the music from Wintersleep, you don’t reflect but believe—believe in 
the endless possibilities of your own conquests. 

 However, things aren’t always copacetic. There are a few tunes that aren’t bad per se, but 
rather middling for the band’s fifth album. One that comes in mind immediately is “Permanent 
Sigh”. It’s a sporadic tune that sounds peaceful at times, but is mediocre during most of its 
duration. The surprise treat off the album comes in the form of “Someone, Somewhere”—a 
beautifully written and performed song that puts the active listener in a world of utter bliss. 
The hidden gem though is “Saving Song”. The song is a soft, tender, and unexpected slowdown 
halfway through the album. It definitely gives the album more scope and validates Wintersleep’s 
boundless talents. When the dust settles, a few songs here don’t accomplish much, but for rest of 
the journey, it’s a pretty worthwhile expedition. 

Key Tracks: “Hum”, “In Came The Flood”, “Resuscitate”, “Saving Song”

7.5 out of 10 

CONFRONT AND CONCEAL: OBAMA’S SECRET WARS AND 
SURPRISING USE OF AMERICAN POWER 

by David E. Sanger


A revealing account of Obama’s use of innovated new tools of American power to manage 
a rapidly shifting world of global threats and challenges. Inside the White House Situation 
Room, the newly elected Barack Obama immerses himself in the details of a remarkable 
new American capability to launch cyber war against Iran, and escalates covert operations 
to delay the day when the mullahs could obtain a nuclear weapon. Over the next three 
years, Obama accelerates drone attacks as an alternative 
to putting troops on the ground 
in Pakistan, and becomes increasingly reliant on the Special Forces, whose hunting of Al-
Qaeda illuminates the path out of an unwinnable 
war in Afghanistan. 

Confront and Conceal provides readers with a picture of an administration that came 
to office with the world on fire. It takes them into the Situation Room debate over how 
to undermine Iran’s program while simultaneously trying to prevent Israel from taking 
military action that could plunge the region into another war. It dissects how the bin Laden 
raid worsened the dysfunctional relationship with Pakistan. And it traces how Obama’s 
early idealism about fighting “a war of necessity” in Afghanistan quickly turned to fatigue 
and frustration. 

One of the most trusted and acclaimed national security correspondents in the country, 
David Sanger of the New York Times takes readers deep inside the Obama administration’s 
most perilous decisions: The president dispatches 
an emergency search team to the Gulf 
when the White House briefly fears the Taliban may have obtained the Bomb, but he rejects 
a plan in late 2011 to send in Special Forces to recover a stealth drone that went down in 
Iran. Obama overrules his advisers and takes the riskiest path in killing Bin Laden, and 
ignores their advice when he helps oust Hosni Mubarak from the presidency of Egypt. “The 
surprise is his aggressiveness,” a key ambassador who works closely with Obama reports. 

Yet the president has also pivoted American foreign policy away from the attritional wars 
of the past decade, attempting to preserve America’s influence with a lighter, defter touch, 
all while focusing on a new era of diplomacy in Asia and reconfiguring America’s role 
during a time of economic turmoil and austerity. As the world seeks to understand whether 
there is an Obama Doctrine, Confront and Conceal is a fascinating, unflinching account of 
these complex years, in which the president and his administration have found themselves 
struggling to stay ahead in a world where power is diffuse and America’s ability to exert 
control grows ever more elusive.

Artist: Wintersleep

Album: Hello Hum

Label: Roll Call Records 

Release Date: June 12th, 2012


9th ANNUAL FREE SUMMER JAZZ CONCERT 

SERIES PRESENTED BY THE PLAYHOUSE DISTRICT 
ASSOCIATION

- Free Jazz Concerts All Summer Long - 

 The Pasadena Playhouse District Association sizzles this summer with its 9th Annual Free 
Jazz Summer Concert Series. The concert series takes place every Sunday evening, July 1 
through August 26, 2012 from 5 pm until 7 pm at the Vroman's outdoor courtyard, 695 
E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. The 9th Annual Free Jazz Summer Concert Series is free and 
open to the public.

The nine week series features an eclectic roster of up-and-coming and notable jazz performers 
such as the jazz optometrist Elliott Caine, award-winning soul singer/songwriter Jamila 
Ford, and jazz guitarists and composer, Joe LoPiccolo among other performers. From blues 
to Latin and smooth jazz, the free summer jazz concert series has something for all jazz lovers. 
The full concert schedule listed below.

In its ninth year the summer jazz concert series has provided the community with all-star 
jazz entertainment at no cost. 

For additional information on the ninth annual Free Summer Jazz Concert series, contact 
the Playhouse District Association, 626.744.0340. 

About the Playhouse District Association 

The Playhouse District Association (PDA) is a California non-profit formed in 1995, which 
serves to enhance and promote The Playhouse District as the historic, cultural, and thriving 
commercial heart of Pasadena.

2012 SUMMER CONCERT SCHEDULE *

July 1 – Elliott Caine 

July 8 – Joseph Pericano

July 15 - Bobby Blueshouse Band 

July 22 – Leila Avila 

July 29 – Michael Haggins 

August 5 – Jamila Ford 

August 12 – JAZZTEC

August 19 – Scott Martin Latin Jazz 

August 26 – Joe LoPicollo 

* Performers are subject to change without notice.