Wino - Punctuated Equilibrium CD Review (Southern Lord) ~ BrooklynRocks: NYC Music Blog

Friday, January 16, 2009

Wino - Punctuated Equilibrium CD Review (Southern Lord)

Wino - Punctuated Equilibrium CD Review (Southern Lord)After spending the past 25 years playing music, it seems hard to believe that Scott "Wino" Weinrich is just now releasing his first solo CD.

The new disc, Punctuated Equilibrium, will be released next Tuesday on the Southern Lord label. Like most Southern Lord releases, there will be a limited edition vinyl pressing. The vinyl pressing comes with a bonus 10" that contains four exclusive tracks:

- Chest Fever
- Der Gift (The Poison)
- On The (Sacrificial) Lam
- The Comet And The Moon

Wino has been busy since disbanding The Hidden Hand in 2007. He recorded both a solo CD and joined a new project, Shrinebuilder, with members of The Melvins, Neurosis, and Om. On Punctured Equilibrium, Wino is joined by Jon Black (of Rezin) and Jean-Paul Gaster (of Clutch). The disc was produced by J. Robbins (x-Jawbox, Government Issue) and comes with original artwork from David D'Andrea. There are also extensive liner notes from Wino that describe the origin of each track.

Here is how Wino sums up the disc: "This is the culmination of a very old dream, one that has come true in many different ways. One of the main things I have learned is how I understand "success". To me, it's not all riches and glory so much as the impact on others lives. My main philosophy that guides me is that I was given a gift, a Musical gift which I use to bring happiness to others. It is also important not to overlook your own needs, but putting yourself in the other person's shoes is to me most important! Punctuated Equilibrium is how my personality has been described, as told in the lyrics."

Wino keeps the sound varied on on Punctured Equilibrium as the tracks range from a mix of stoner psychedelia (check out "Punctuated Equilibrium" or "Wild Blue Yonder", which has some Hendrix style riffs) to Clutch-style blues-based grooves ("Smilin Road", which is streaming on Wino's MySpace page and "Release Me"). There are also a couple tracks with a solid middle-eastern feel along with the (obligatory) Sabbath style downtuned "doom" tracks.

For any fans of Wino's past work, along with fans of the doom/stoner rock genre, Punctuated Equilibrium is a great addition to your music library.

Wino is currently in Los Angeles recording with Shrinebuilder and that disc will come out sometime this year on Neurot Recordings.

Links:
Wino's MySpace Profile