I have covered Terry Malts, Smokescreens and The Neutrals on these pages with great enthusiasm. So I was thrilled to learn of a project that brings together members of all those bands. Please meet The Wind-Ups. Based on familiarity with those other projects, when pressing ‘play’ on their new double EP, Try Not to Think, I expected hooks and noise. What I got was hooks and noise. Oh, so many hooks and so very much noise; so much very good noise. Rumors that one of California’s recent power outages was attributable to the recording of this record are unconfirmed. However, mastering technician Dave Gardner reported that it was one of the loudest record he has worked on. But while the initial impression may be The Ramones turned up to 11, the core of these songs is well-conceived power pop.
The album was written performed and recorded by Jake Sprecher (Smokescreens, Terry Malts, Beehive, and Jonathan Richman. When it is time to play live, Terry Malts companions Phill Benson and Nathan Sweatt will join Jake. Try Not to Think is out via Mt.St.Mtn., with distribution via Revolver (US) and Cargo (UK).