Listen: W I N C H E S T E R - 'I'm Not Ready To Go Yet' (Single)

Cinematic indie pop/rock band W I N C H E S T E R share their second single "I'm Not Ready to Go Yet", out now via  Label Labs Records.

Given I live just down the road from Winchester, UK I was envisaging giving an endorsement to a promising local act. Turns out that W I N C H E S T E R duo Lauren Austin and Montgomery de Luna hail from Toronto. Still, having delved into the band’s background, their intent for a heady combination of shoegaze art-pop and accompanying visuals, aided by a mix of classical musical training, arts understanding and software skills, add a large element of intrigue to this enterprising bunch.

First impressions of this second single from a planned series of released are that ‘I’m Not Ready To Go Yet’ is more than your average synth-fest. Its seven-minute duration presents a track that’s happy to take its time unravelling, in contrast to the band’s surprise at the rapid pace in which the song was pieced together. References for the early moments is M83’s ‘Wait’, with a simple note refrain and acoustic chords increasingly overlaid with synth effects and some rather angelic vocals.

At its mid point, ‘I’m Not Ready To Go Yet’ takes an altogether different direction, with a big old tremolo-style guitar solo taking centre stage until things wind down to revisit the opening moments. Admittedly a degree of editing may have focused this section, but one feels the point of this track is an extended cinematic journey rather than an easily-digested, sugar-coated hit. As such, and as a fan of music of the more epic persuasion, it’s great to hear a track given time to run its course.

Overall, one imagines a wash of background projections accompany this track providing a rather sublime live experience, and one which I’d be sure to check out should W I N C H E S T E R manage to, um, play Winchester, UK. ‘I’m Not Ready To Go Yet’ was released in November, with a further December release planned to keep the momentum building for an EP scheduled for February. Certainly worth keeping an eye on, and one hopes their success matches their ambition.

Words of @DS_convertible