Winterpills are an American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, 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 mu ...

band from

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571. Northampton is known as an acade ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Its members are Philip Price, Flora Reed, Dave Hower, Dennis Crommett and Max Germer, sometimes joined on tour and in studio by Brian Akey, José Ayerve and Henning Ohlenbusch. They released their debut eponymous album in November 2005 on

Signature Sounds Signature Sounds Recordings is an independent record label specializing in Americana and modern folk music. Jim Olsen and Mark Thayer founded the label in 1995 to promote acoustic musicians who were playing in Northampton, Massachusetts. Signatu ...

, and their second album on the same label was released February 27, 2007, titled " The Light Divides". Their third album, " Central Chambers", was released on October 14, 2008, also on

, and a vinyl 7" single of ''Broken Arm''/''A Folded Cloth'' was released in the UK on February 4, 2009 on Riot Act Records. "Central Chambers" was also released on vinyl on January 13, 2009. A 6-song EP, " Tuxedo of Ashes", was released on October 5, 2010. Their fifth release is " All My Lovely Goners", released on February 14, 2012, and the double-LP vinyl version was released on April 21, 2012. Their sixth release is "Love Songs," released March 18, 2016.

History

As veteran musicians of the

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

indie music scene, the five members of Winterpills formed from a group of friends "hanging out at Dennis rommetts house" into a band in the winter of 2003. They began playing out regionally in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

the following spring, and released their eponymous album in 2005. ''

Winterpills Winterpills are an American indie rock band from Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. Its members are Philip Price, Flora Reed, Dave Hower, Dennis Crommett and Max Germer, sometimes joined on tour and in studio by Brian Akey, José Aye ...

'' was received warmly by critics—garnering comparisons to

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

, and

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...

—and landed in the Top 100 for both

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

and

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

. The band carved out a sound characterized by acoustic folk-pop, male-female harmonies, and melancholic songwriting by Price. Their albums have received high praise by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', '' No Depression'', ''

The Utne Reader ''Utne Reader'' (also known as ''Utne'') ( ) is a digital digest that collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment, generally from alternative media sources including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music, and ...

'', ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'', '' Paste Magazine'', ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

'', ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'', and the ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', among others They have shared the stage with Grant-Lee Phillips, Vampire Weekend,

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305) ...

Cake Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, ...

, Lisa Germano,

Syd Straw Syd Straw (born 1958) is an American rock singer and songwriter. The daughter of actor Jack Straw (''The Pajama Game''), she began her career singing backup for Pat Benatar, then took her distinct voice to the indie/alternative scene and joined ...

, Juana Molina, Ladybug Transistor,

The Mountain Goats The Mountain Goats are an American band formed in Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Durham, North Carolina. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle, despite the ...

Crowded House Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Later ban ...

, Erin McKeown,

Fountains of Wayne Fountains of Wayne was an American rock band that formed in New York City in 1995. The band included founding members Chris Collingwood, Adam Schlesinger, Jody Porter, and Brian Young. They released five albums from 1996 to 2011 before effec ...

Alejandro Escovedo Alejandro Escovedo (born January 10, 1951) is an American rock musician, songwriter, and singer, who has been recording and touring since the late 1970s. His primary instrument is the guitar. He has played in various rock genres, including punk ...

, Rainer Maria,

Martha Wainwright Martha Wainwright (born May 8, 1976) is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She has released seven critically-acclaimed studio albums. Wainwright is the daughter of musicians Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III a ...

, Josh Ritter among others. While touring extensively the band played

Mountain Stage ''Mountain Stage'' is a two-hour music radio show, first aired in 1983, produced by West Virginia Public Broadcasting and distributed worldwide by National Public Radio (NPR). Hosted by Larry Groce from the show's inception until 2021 and current ...

on NPR, and were featured on NPR's

Weekend Edition ''Weekend Edition'' is a set of American radio news magazine programs produced and distributed by National Public Radio (NPR). It is the weekend counterpart to the NPR radio program ''Morning Edition''. It consists of ''Weekend Edition Saturday'' ...

and World Cafe, and XM Radio's Loft Sessions.

Members

* Philip Price (vocals, guitar) * Flora Reed (vocals, keyboard) *Dennis Crommett (guitar, vocals) * Dave Hower (drums) * Max Germer (bass) *Brian Akey (bass)

Discography

Albums

*''

'' (2005, Signature Sounds/Soft Alarm) *'' The Light Divides'' (2007, Signature Sounds/Soft Alarm) *''Central Chambers'' (2008, Signature Sounds/Soft Alarm) *''All My Lovely Goners'' (2012, Signature Sounds/Soft Alarm) *''Echolalia'' (2014, Signature Sounds) *''Love Songs'' (2016, Signature Sounds)

EPs

*''Tuxedo of Ashes'' (2010, Signature Sounds/Soft Alarm)

Singles

* "Colorblind" (digital single, 2017, Signature Sounds) * "Take Away the Words" (radio promo, 2009, Signature Sounds) * "Broken Arm" (7", 2009, Signature Sounds)

References

External links

Official band websiteSignature Sounds websitePhilip Price solo websiteFlora Reed websiteDennis Crommett websiteJosé Ayerve websiteBrian Akey websiteBillboard.com
{{Authority control Indie rock musical groups from Massachusetts Musical groups established in 2003 Signature Sounds artists