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Gig Guide
Saturday March 13th
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· Bath St: Dunedin Dubstep
· Sammy's Entertainment Venue: Salmonella Dub
· Chicks Hotel: Digital Bath
· University Main Common Room: The Verlaines NZ Tour
· Swell Cafe and Bar: Live Jazz at St. Clair
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27 November, 2009
“You Can Have It All!” Paul Winders and the Goodness review
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“You Can Have It All!” Paul Winders and the Goodness review
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When the guitar and vocals kicked in and that same drum beat kicked into life, my thoughts were confirmed. But it has its own flavour, that of summer in New Zealand and yet also has a deeply touching subject matter. The summer in New Zealand motif is also in force on the hand-drawn cover of the album which features a station wagon with a surfboard and guitar strapped to the roof, the car full of people heading towards the beach, all with big smiles on their faces.
Paul Winders’ debut album “You Can Have It All!” was recently released through dunedinmusic.com and in this solo effort he is ably supported in the studio by “the Goodness” which is made up of Kiri Winders (backing vocals, keyboards, bass; ex-My Deviant Daughter and Valve), Jeff Harford (drums, percussion; ex-Bored Games, Valve and The Rip), Stephen Hayes (guitar, squeeze box, violin, mandolin) and Stephen Stedman (backing vocals, slide dobro and guitars; Alpha State, ex-Glove Puppet and Smirky.) So he is well supported by a keen group of musos with current and past ties to the local music scene.
It may be seen that Paul Winders is the most current exponent of what started in the late 1970s-early 1980s with Flying Nun and a vast breadth of indie music that trickled out of Dunedin. These bands may have been defined as jangly guitar pop, a definition which became one of much contention amongst musos, exemplified by bands such as The Chills, The Verlaines, The Bats, a particular strain that started with The Clean when they formed in 1978. But there were other trace elements of different genres and strains within Flying Nun, from the groovy jazz riffs and brassy sound of Netherworld Dancing Toys through the melancholic pop of Sneaky Feelings to the heavier rock of bands like Bored Games, Toy Love and Straitjacket Fits.
This time Paul Winders may have gone out on his own with this solo project, he is breaking the mould that was set when he was a member of the Verlaines, that of a moving away from the somewhat heavier and deeply allusional work of Graeme Downes to something a bit more lighter. Now Winders has taken his own direction and is going for something slightly lighter but has a different tone.
The album is called “one from the heart.” One of the main, if not the main influence and reason for writing this album is the experience Winders went through in watching his wife succumb to a long battle with cancer. He admits that his music was dark and heavy in the past, a reflection upon the dark times that he was going through himself. But through the terrible experience of experiencing death up close, uncomfortably so, he realised “life is too short” and that you must take and enjoy every day as it comes.
Another contrast may be drawn with Graeme Downes through the lyrics. Winders’ words may lack the subtle sophistication of the stuff he is used to play with in The Verlaines, especially their latest offering, Corporate Moronic. But he is writing for a different purpose, with a different motive. It is a joyful celebration of life.
With names of songs such as “Any Man”, “Best of Friends”, “Thank You” and “Insomnia”, Paul Winders is through song and through writing his own tunes he may find his own redemption and ease his own suffering. This is echoed in the lyrics, where he is constantly referring to someone behind the music, is talking through the music, “If I had, a crystal ball, I’d look for you, in the coil. I’d hope and I pray, you’d see me in the same way”, “And you turn to me and say, I hope you’re feeling okay.”
There is some sort of longing for physical touch, something very deep and personal espoused through the lyrics. “I keep feeling you babe, you’re deep inside of me, you’re running through my veins”, “Every time I look into your eyes, it makes me smile”, “I feel you in the air, I feel you everywhere.”
Also you can find a feeling there of a sense of place which is empty without this person that is lost. “Here we go once again, this is how it all begins”, “You came into this world to love in arms, with tiny hands”, “You take me to a place where nature sings” and “Thanks for coming around, its been a while, since you hit town. We’ve been meaning to do this for years, but it seems to have all gone, disappeared.”
It is a love letter to his wife, gone but not forgotten. It is so deeply personal when you think about what he is singing about, that you feel somewhat uncomfortable being witness to such matters. The subject matter may be really sad and terrible, yet Winders embarks though on a journey of redemption from pain through this album. It obviously has remained so fresh in his mind, but as has been said before, he has realised that life is too short and the album doesn’t sound depressing though, as you may be thinking.
There is more of the laconic sound of recent David Kilgour in influence when it comes to Winders’ voice himself. He references it all but deals with it in a gritty fashion in terms of the tone of his voice and the guitar pop that is the main musical thrust of the album is more upbeat and thus provides a contrast with the subject matter.
There is that punk sound evident especially through the particular tempo of drumming in the songs that can be found in the Verlaines and the only thing that really changes at times is the tempo of the drums where he pauses awhile, reflective, then plunges back into the song.
The song “You” starts with just a solo guitar and Winders' voice, reinforcing the fact that this is really his story. So the album does conjure sadness and yet hope, an effort to realise the past and yet move on from it. “When a door is closed, somewhere a window opens.”
AK
Posted by scott
