let us make a record

It only took until the end of song one that I began singing along to the Blue Winter’s second full length project, appropriately titled, Volume 2.  Throughout the ten tracks, Aaron Troyer and Ben Roth build infectiously melodic rock anthems with splashes of pop and country that make it nearly impossible to sit still, to sit silent.  The momentum, the joy, the enthusiasm is infectious, even when the songs slow down to an introspective amble.  “I don’t know what you want from me,” begins the album, with a little fingerpicking in the background.  A few moments more and the drums snap in, and the two performers—Roth taking up percussion duties and Troyer handling many of the instruments—are off to the races.  It is the sound of two friends asking existential questions, pushing themselves musically, and having a lot of fun doing it.  As the album progresses, the details become more specific: a 99 Toyota, a father/child heart to heart- stories that mine the small town terrain akin to country fringe artists like Jason Isbell and Chris Stapleton. The melodies, the lyrics, the playfulness— it all cooks. These songs could stand toe to toe with the best of them.