The Winnerys

THE WINNERYS
"Daily Urban Times"
After the great welcome given to their debut album ("and... The Winnerys", Rock Indiana/Rainbow Quartz, 2003) within the indie pop scene, The Winnerys present their second work "DAILY URBAN TIMES", released world-wide by the United States record label Rainbow Quartz (licensed by Rock Indiana for the Spanish market).
Recorded and mixed throughout almost one year since May 2005, this second and long-awaited release of this Madrid band is a big step forward from every point of view. The high quality of their compositions and the dedicated and thorough recording, production and mixing of the 15 songs included in the record, make it a product of a very unusual standing in the musical scene nowadays.
The style of the songs spreads in more varied rhythms and genres detaching from the purest beat style that prevailed all over their first work. Still, they keep the spirit of their unmistakable sound based on brilliant vocal harmonies, powerful guitar riffs and those worked-out but fresh and direct melodies that stay engraved within your mind.
History
The Winnerys started in 1997 as a covers band called The Bad Boys. After two years performing sixties classics all over the pubs and halls of Madrid, the main songwriters of the band, Fausto Martín and Javier Polo, began to put together a set of original songs.
After a few changes in their line-up they started playing live their own stuff in the summer of 2001. Their first demo, from 2002, opened them doors to media and audiences until the Spanish indie label Rock Indiana offered them a recording contract that same year.
Their first record, "And...The Winnerys" came out in June 2003. Soon after its release it was licensed by the american label Rainbow Quartz and released in the USA and other countries.
Apart from their multiple gigs in Madrid and other places of Spain, their most important performances abroad included:
-IPO Festival in Liverpool, UK (The Cavern) in October 2003
-RQ Night in New York and IPO in Chicago, USA, in May 2004
-Beatle Week in Liverpool, UK, in August 2004 (Beatles stuff)
-Beatles Day in Wasquehal, France, in March 2005 (Beatles stuff)
-CMJ Festival in New York, USA, in September 2005
-SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, USA in March 2006
-Beatles Day in Mons, Belgium, in October 2006
Also, "That Magical Wonder", a song included in their first record, was used in a chapter of the Canadian TV series "Queer As Folk" in 2004.
The Winnerys are, like many other Rainbow Quartz bands, influenced by the melodic 60's sounds of the Kinks, Beatles and the Hollies but have created a sound that is distinctly modern while still tipping their hats to the founding fathers of melodic guitar-based rock, sounding at times like more 70's artists like Badfinger and The Knack.
With each member displaying a high degree of musicianship, The Winnerys have cast a spell on many an audience with the alternating jangle and growl of Fausto Martin's and Borja Bonafuente's guitars, the rock steady grooves of Javier Polo's bass and Nacho Garcia's drums and, of course, their irresistible four-part vocal harmonies.
Lyrically, they exhibit an emotional range from poignant to downright mysterious in a delicious mixture of catchy power pop, beat and psychedelia.
In February 2007, just two weeks before the start of their new album Spanish tour, both guitarists of the band decided to quit this acclaimed musical project which led to their unexpected break-up.
Interviews
Supernovapop , Powerpop Action!
Reviews
Shindig Magazine (UK) , Amplifier Magazine (USA) , All Music (USA) , Rock and Roll Report (UK) , Diagonal (ESP) ,Valladolid Web Musical (ESP) ,Popmadrid (ESP) ,Music Forever and Ever (ESP)
Further reviews:
(Powerpopaholic): The Winnerys are actually from Spain. But man, if you didn't know that before listening to this album, you'd be forgiven for thinking that they were born and raised on the banks of the river Mersey. With their British Invasion influences firmly stitched to their sleeves, The Winnerys rip through perfect psychedelic guitar-pop... [giving] any power-pop enthusiast goosebumps. (Splendidezine.com)I try my best to avoid reviewing what other blogs currently have reviewed, but sometimes I can't help it and it just ends up that way. The Winnerys new album is definitely for those who love "old-school" power pop. That means lots of chiming guitar and song structure similar to the mid 1960's Beatles, Bryds, and early Hollies. If you like that -- you'll love this stuff. Rainbow Quartz is a record label that caters to this exact formula and The Winnerys have taken the mantel from the late great Spongetones and ran with it. Listening to these guys from Spain, almost every song is a slice of Beatlesque sunshine using the modern recording techniques. Once in a while, the foriegn accent peaks through - but it never interferes, the melodic jangle will have you bouncing your head to the beat. Even the quality of musicanship is near perfect as well, and I could not find a weak song on "Daily Urban Times" - unlike the first album "...And the Winnerys" which suffered from weak songwriting. So what prevents this from getting a perfect score? It's hard to say here. Maybe it's the repetition of this particular style in all 15 songs. I can very easily play a game of spot the influence with each song (i.e. this baseline comes from "Daytripper"). Let me just say that my standards for perfection are high - a good example of a perfect "10" album would be the self-titled "Wondermints" CD. In any event this makes my year-end "best-of" list. What makes it even better is that is available as a download from emusic.(www.indiepages.com): THE WINNERYS- DAILY URBAN TIMES- RAINBOW QUARTZ Is Madrid the new Athens ? Or Seattle ? Or ..umm....Portland ? it seems every good power pop band that the Rainbow Quartz label releases seems to be from that city (or at the very least from Spain). I remembered enjoying the Winnery's R.Q. debut from a few years back but this is a huge step forward. The band has two distinct songwriters in Fausto Martin and bassist Javier Polo and i like each of their songs equally (which is usually not the case) and in the case of DAILY URBAN TIMES it's one great pop song after the other. The band are all excellent players and the songs are crafted to perfection ( these guys must be serious perfectionists). Seriously, from the opening 'Get into my Life' to the swaying 'No Longer White' to the impossibly hooky 'So Many People' (with its slightly Dylan-esque vocals) and on and on you'd think they were from Liverpool and not Spain. With these guys as well as the High Dials, Outrageous Cherry, Denise James and too many others, it seems as if the R.Q. label is poised to take over the pop universe . They've got my vote. (www.rainbowquartz.com)(Kool Kat): Kool Kat faves The Winnerys, like many other Rainbow Quartz bands, are influenced by the melodic 60's sounds of the Kinks, Beatles, The Searchers, and the Hollies - but have created a sound that is distinctly modern while still tipping their hats to the founding fathers of melodic guitar-based rock, even sounding at times like The Posies - and always resulting in a delicious mixture of catchy power pop, beat and psychedelia! Well my friends, their newie does not disappoint! This is 6 + 12-string, jangly, modern Merseybeat-inspired pop at its absolute utmost! The 15 hook-filled gems contained here are bursting at the seams with guitars that glisten and feature soaring, sublime harmonies! Another "Best Of 2006" contender for sure from one of the best pure pop bands on the planet! Can't say enough about this one! GREAT!!!!It's usually cause for celebration when a new Rainbow Quartz CD comes out, and today is no exception with the release of The Winnerys' sophomore effort, Daily Urban Times. The Winnerys (pronounced "winner is") hail from Madrid (yes, the one in Spain) and serve up 60s-style power pop. That means a lot of early Beatles, Byrds, Hollies, Dave Clark Five, Kinks-influenced tracks, and they do their influences proud. That's apparent right from the opening jangle of "Get Into My Life", a blast of Hard Day's Night-era Beatles and "Big Times" stays Merseyside. Other highlights include "My Little Good Friend", a McCartneyesque ballad, and the Hollies-influenced "Five Five Five". The disc spans 15 tracks in all, and if close your eyes while listening to it, you'll swear you were transported back to the 1960s..(El Desvan, Don Trasto): "Daily Urban Times" (Rock Indiana) es el nuevo y esperado trabajo que nos ofrecen The Winnerys, con un salto compositivo, y de producción, importante respecto de su predecesor. Durante el minutaje de los 15 temas de los que se compone este disco, nos ofrecen una variedad de matíces y estilos que van desde un pop nueva olero, a sonidos "beat", el pop más brillante y adictivo, medios tiempos, guitarras contundentes. Todo ello al alcance de la mano, y a disposición de los amantes del pop atemporal. De nuevo, la sombra de grandes influencias como los Beach Boys, The Hollies, The Beatles, Big Star, se hacen latentes durante todo el disco: en los acertados y constantes coros, en las guitarras cristalinas; y a veces contundenetes, pegadizos estribillos, composiciones de un pop impecable, transparente, sin aditivos, y de una más que notable calidad compositiva, poniendo tierra de por medio y distancia a muchas propuestas que se ofrecen en otras bandas nacionales. Dificil tarea la de mencionar de forma especial, o destacar alguna de las perlas que contiene este disco. Temas como My Little Good Friend, bien podría ser firmado por todo un Paul McCartney, melodías pop impecables como "How I Miss You", "Big Times", o "So Many People" y esto dice mucho de la pretensión musical que persigue este nuevo disco "Daily Urban Times". Tal y como hicieran los grandes del pop, la finalidad musical de estos madrileños está meridianamente clara: perseguir y conseguir las melodias perfectas. Ese es el objetivo de The Winnerys, y al escuchar esta maravilla de disco, solo podemos disfrutar con sus perfectas melodías. Enhorabuena, objetivo cumplido!!
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