As we lurch toward summer through clouds of teargas and contagion, Winterpills marks the moment with an uncharacteristically upbeat new song, “Golden Wave.” A portion of sales will benefit the ACLU.
Featuring the Northampton group in duo form, the song finds singer and principal songwriter Philip B. Price venturing into subject matter his songs tend not to explore: joy. A tightly coiled guitar part on infinite echo mingles with a robust bassline and whirring synthesizers as Price and Flora Reed sing interlaced harmony vocals.
The song offers a brief respite from the “strife, pain and uncertainty” that are so dominant right now “Honestly, I was writing about the pulsing electrical waves I feel inside my head when I'm dissolving, obliterated, non-existent, egoless and happy," Price says in a press release. "I try to visit that place whenever I can. Not always easy to get to but rewarding as hell.”
All the same, he recognizes that not everyone finds solace in the idea of disappearing into oneself. “For some, it may be a relief: letting go of the hyperactive, critical self, the agonizing attachments of the world. For others who have been begging to be seen their whole lives, disappearing is not a relief. This is a painful paradox and it’s baked into the song.”
“Golden Waves” is Winterpills’ first new song since the 2017 single “Colorblind.” Since then, Price reissued his sizable solo catalog, and augmented it last year with the excellent “Bone Almanac,” his first new solo album in since 2004. The full Winterpills lineup — with Dennis Crommett on guitar, Max Germer on bass and Dave Hower on drums — will begin work on a new project later this year, Price says.