Singles

Picture Books In Winter - Open Heart Surgery

Owain Paciuszko 31/01/2009

Rating: 4/5

From their live shows to their early recordings the strength of Picture Books in Winter is the density of their arrangments, interweaving the various performers in an interesting and attention grabbing fashion that allows them to belie their Los Campesinos!-comparisons (they have a violinist) and make sure they are perceived as something very different. Though, again, they - as this single's title may suggest - also deal with personal and darkly-romantic themes they approach them in a poppier fashion, and - whereas Los Campesinos! mixes layred instrumentation with lead singer Gareth's semi-spoken word poetry - lead singer Si Truss' vocal is another instrument, soft and lilting where needs be and then snappy and emotive on Destroy Me, Trust No One.

The two tracks of this single and a tad too well produced for my liking, but they are both strong songs that bode well for the future of this young band.