''Putting the Days to Bed'' is the third full-length studio album by

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band

the Long Winters The Long Winters are an American indie rock band based in Seattle, Washington. History Singer-songwriter John Roderick was born in Seattle, Washington, and grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. He later returned to Seattle, where he formed the Bun Fa ...

. It was released in the US by

Barsuk Records Barsuk Records ( ) is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, that was founded by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, in 1998 to release their band's material. Its logo is a draw ...

and distributed in Europe by Munich Records in 2006. The album title is a lyric from the album track "Hindsight".

Reception

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' described the album as " issingthe masterful mark" but still "a solid effort—a step in a promising new direction" and "not so much power pop or even necessarily ''powerful'' pop—just powered up pop, all horns and echoes and toe-tapping parties", while ''

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fro ...

'' called it, "Roderick's strongest work to date". Many reviews remark on Roderick's songwriting, calling him "a master storyteller", as well as the album's stylistic continuity despite the band's lineup changes. Keith Phipps, writing for ''

the A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'', said, "changing has meant growing into a band that's tougher to ignore than ever."

Track listing

; Notes * † denotes tracks originally released on the 2005 EP ''

Ultimatum An ultimatum (; ) is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance (open loop). An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series ...

Personnel

The Long Winters * John Roderick – guitar, vocals, piano, production * Jonathan Rothman – guitar, keys * Eric Corson – bass *

Nabil Ayers Nabil Ayers is an American music industry entrepreneur, author and musician. Ayers' debut memoir, ''My Life in the Sunshine,'' was published by Viking Press on June 7, 2022. The book focuses on Ayers' relationship with his father, the jazz mus ...

– drums Additional musicians *

Chris Funk Christopher Funk (born November 28, 1971) is an American musician and multi-instrumentalist best known as a member of the Portland, Oregon, indie rock band The Decemberists. He plays guitar, pedal steel, piano, violin, dobro, hurdy-gurdy, ma ...

– additional instruments on "Honest" *

Chris Walla Christopher Ryan Walla (born November 2, 1975) is an American musician, record producer, and film music composer, best known for being a former guitarist and songwriter for the band Death Cab for Cutie. Musical career Early bands While at Bo ...

– additional instruments on "Honest" *

Kurt Bloch Kurt Bloch (born August 28, 1960) is an American songwriter, guitarist, engineer and record producer. Music career Bloch is best known as songwriter and lead guitarist of Fastbacks, and is a member of The Young Fresh Fellows. Record Production ...

– guitar on "Ultimatum" Additional personnel * Floyd Rietsma – engineering * John Goodmanson – mixing * Ed Brooks – mastering

Cover versions

In 2011, Chris Carrabba of

Dashboard Confessional Dashboard Confessional is an American rock band from Boca Raton, Florida, led by singer Chris Carrabba. The name of the band is derived from the songThe Sharp Hint of New Tears off their debut album, '' The Swiss Army Romance''. History Early ...

covered "The Commander Thinks Aloud" on his album '' Covered In The Flood''.

Use in other media

*The song "(It's A) Departure" served as the theme song to the comedy advice podcast ''

My Brother, My Brother and Me ''My Brother, My Brother and Me'' (often abbreviated as ''MBMBaM'', pronounced ) is a weekly comedy advice podcast distributed by the Maximum Fun network and hosted by brothers Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy. Regular episodes of the p ...

'' from January 17, 2011 until 2021, as well as to the

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

based on the podcast. Roderick since appeared on the podcast, as well as toured with the podcast's live shows and performed the song live to introduce the show. However, it was announced on January 3, 2021 that after a controversy involving Roderick on Twitter they would no longer be using the song.

References

The Long Winters albums 2006 albums Barsuk Records albums {{2000s-alt-rock-album-stub