Win Win
Primaries
Reviewed by: Geno Thackara
Catchy, low-key, trippy, cute and more than a bit weird, Win Win is the kind of band that probably digs into piles of stray instruments like kids in a candy store. Their newest offering Primaries is packed full of fuzzy synths, light peppy drum loops, vocal effects and the like. You can hear them putting as much effort into the production as they do with the writing and performing; the album shows a delight in studio tinkering that’ll be pleasantly familiar to fans of Gotye or Imogen Heap.
At the same time, that itch to experiment also leads to the album’s biggest weakness. They can’t seem to decide whether they want to be a lo-fi indie outfit, a lighthearted 60s throwback or a modern radio-pop group with a dose of electronica. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing – variety is great, but this most often feels like the result of throwing things together just for the sake of throwing things together. “Amoeba” crosses motorik with basement rock; “Holly Body” is half experimental noise and half smooth R&B. “Message” almost wouldn’t be out of place at a jam-band show, while “Wash ‘n Repeat” offers a slight alternative vibe with some jangly psychedelica straight out of the Woodstock age. It feels like they weren’t really keeping an ear out for how the big picture hangs together, but simply got carried away molding sounds like Play-doh and couldn’t resist the chance to squeeze in every scrap of an idea that came up.
It all makes for a nice enough listen that I could easily imagine enjoying in the background during an afternoon barbecue, even if the wackiness never knocks my socks off (or whatever the equivalent phrase would be for a season when I prefer not to wear socks anyway). Primaries feels like the kind of album that’ll hit the perfect sweet spot for listeners with just the right taste, while others might find a couple tracks here and there to love (and probably not even agree on which ones). Do you sometimes have trouble deciding whether you’re more in the mood for The 5th Dimension or Stereolab? Then who knows, this might be the new summer disc you want after all.
Rating: Listenable
