Greenville, IL is not a place we can rightly say we’d heard much of, but more recently this town of just under seven thousand has proven to be home of some stand out up and coming musical talent. First we were introduced to Eagle Scout, a band that puts the ‘rock’ in the Rockwellian description of town. Now the place that has dubbed itself, “A town for all seasons” brings us the Americana-Indie band Wind and Sail, and their free EP A Place to Discover.
This five track little album definitely took us by surprise upon first listen. Simple and modest in their online presence, Wind and Sail at first didn’t seem like a band that would stand out- in a world far too concerned with flashy HTML and outlandish titles, the barely there description and presentation of A Place to Discover didn’t seem like anything that was made to hook a listener. However, with no gimmick but simply good music, Wind and Sail managed to appease our ears to the point of putting the handful of tracks the EP offers on repeat as we listened.
Starting out with a gentle, muted organ, opening track ‘Apology’ starts softly and delivers a perfect build through its bass, percussion, and vocals. Right off the bat there’s some serious allusions to bands like Nada Surf and Wilco, likenesses that continue throughout the EP in a way that is complimentary, not contrived.
‘Your Body’ is chock full of twang and guitar slide, with a faster pace than any of the other tracks, andabstract lyrics that fill out a very hum-able chorus. The accordion and tambourine part of ‘My Friends’ was a big hit for us, while our front-man croons lyrics of coming home to a slightly cadenced tempo reminiscent of As Tall As Lions.
It’s with our fourth and fifth track that A Place to Discover started to lose us, mostly because there seems to be a disruption in the musical fusion between instruments and vocal melody that we had in the earlier songs. “Brand New Land” has great things going on in both departments, but the spacey quality of its fills and the twangyness of its guitar came across as clashing when combined with the methodic vocals. ‘The Deep’ toes this same line of conflict, but pulls itself together in its end, and over all won us over with its broad, tremulous riffs and fuzzy sounding cymbals.
All in all A Place to Discover is an extremely pleasant surprise of an EP, not only for its humble beginnings, but also because of the variation our quartet is able to deliver while never crossing too far over the border of Americana-Indie. Wind and Sail is band we’ll definitely be keeping an eye on, and we hope those reading this will too.
Reviewsic touched based with Devin Moroney of Wind and Sail to talk a little shop about the band’s beginning, his favorite locals, and what is coming next for Wind and Sail.
Reviewsic: Can you give us a quick recap of what the band has been up to as of late?
Devin Moroney: We recorded a 5 song EP at the end of November and released it in December. We went on a short tour to try to get some word out. Lately we’re stuggling and doing everything to get it on to everyone’s iTunes, iPods, and iCDplayers.
Reviewsic: What’s the backstory on how the band came to be what it is today?
Devin Moroney: Blake and I were in a band together that just fizzled out over a short time. We kept jamming and writing songs and started playing with Nick and Bryan because I lived with them and we were all friends, and everyone enjoyed it.
Reviewsic: Individually, how did you get your starts in music?
Devin Moroney: Nick and I both had families that did a lot of music. Blake and Bryan both just picked up their respective instruments at a young age.
Reviewsic: If you could book a tour with any 3 bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Devin Moroney: The Beatles (because I would be giddy), Third Eye Blind (cause Bryan would be giddy), and recently we played with Lovedrug and they were sweet and refreshing so I’ll say them.
Reviewsic: What are your top three musical influences?
Devin Moroney: I’d have to say.. Paper Route, The Beatles, and maybe Death Cab
Reviewsic: Is there any instrument you don’t play, but wish you did?
Devin Moroney: I’ve always thought that the cello is the most beautiful sounding instrument.
Reviewsic: What are the last three albums or bands you listened to?
Devin Moroney: Limbeck- Hi, Everthing’s Great, Lovedrug-Sucker Punch Show, Wilco- A.M.
Reviewsic: If you could work with one person in the music industry (musician, label, producer etc), who would it be and why?
Devin Moroney: Probably one of the guys from Paper Route. They are so creative and I’ve been listening to them play music long before they were Paper Route.
Reviewsic: Who was the first band/musician you saw live?
Devin Moroney: I really don’t remember. I’m embarrassed to say that I saw NSync when I was in 5th grade. My only excuse is that it was for my sister’s birthday.
Reviewsic: Who are three of your favorite local bands?
Devin Moroney: Eagle Scout, The Great Outdoors, and The Van Pelts
Reviewsic: Tell us about the EP- is there a particular creative direction behind it? What was the recording process like for you?
Devin Moroney: For this EP, I kind of wanted to write stuff that wasn’t so dark. There are some more whimsical feeling songs like My Friends and Your Body. We also just wanted to use our whole arsenal of instruments and keep it all organic at the same time. We recorded at a small house in Clarksville, TN.
Reviewsic: How would you compare yourselves as musicians at this point, as opposed to when you first began playing together?
Devin Moroney: I sing a lot more. Blake uses a lot more slide on his guitar. Bryan plays less funk. Nick uses no more double kick pedal.
Reviewsic: What are some of your favorite cities to play?
Devin Moroney: Macon, Georgia, Okaloosa, Iowa, and Peoria, Illinois
Reviewsic: What are the best and worst band moments so far in your career?
Devin Moroney: I think our best moments in the band were at our release show of this EP and when we toured it right away. It felt like were going to get a lot of people to hear it and everyone seemed to be responding to it. The worst was maybe after those few weeks when it felt like there was no more hype (I’m sure there has been worse but I can’t really think of them).
Reviewsic: What are three words you’d use to describe your music to someone who’s never heard it?
Devin Moroney: Slidy, Melodic, Whiskey (I had some help with that last one a long while ago)
Reviewsic: What’s next for Wind & Sail? Where would you like to see yourselves this time next year?
Devin Moroney: For a while we’re just going to start playing a lot more shows to promote our EP tour a little bit more, and hopefully get people that will be interested in what we do next. In a year from now, I would like to be releasing or working on releasing a full length that at least a few people will look forward to.
