Send "The Jigsaw Seen " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters |
 As retailers leap-frog Thanksgiving and start pumping Christmas music through their overhead speakers—we get it, by the way, you’re worried we won’t spend any money this year so you’re warming us up early, great—you may find yourself wishing they had some music from the Jigsaw Seen on hand. The long-time power-pop group has always had a warm, inviting sound—something gauzier than the jangle of classic R.E.M. and just barely on the normal side of Super Furry Animals’ kooky antics. Now, though, they’ve gone and made a Christmas album. Well, sort of. It’s a winter album—hence the title, Winterland—but it doesn’t shy away from talking about the holiday season plenty.The immediate appeal to Winterland is that, well, the Jigsaw Seen doesn’t change its approach all that much. It doesn’t devolve into caroling and cloying bells—though there are a few bells—to achieve its wintry mix. Instead, the album adroitly cools the band’s pop sensibilities into the sludgy grey of short December days. Rather than try to warm us up with holiday spirit and firesides and good cheer, this album finds its comfort within a more realistic and chilly atmosphere. It may not make for an album that will put you in the mood to celebrate, but it makes for some subtly charming, and sometimes moody, pop music. Opener “What About Christmas”, with its acoustic guitars and lilting strings, paints a picture of a man alone. He’s not exactly lonely, and the song doesn’t sound exactly sad, but the promise of perhaps celebrating with others circles the song effectively. “Snow Angels of Pigtown” is a quietly soaring number, perhaps the best here, that builds keys and sweet vocals over an icy, lean riff. These songs are surrounded by the overcast skies and cold stillness of winter, and they play nicely against more lively numbers like “Candy Cane”—with its plunking pianos and tense chorus—or the jaunty folk of “Circle of Steel”. There’s plenty of darkness around—people tip back gin bottles, people feel isolated, people seem mired in regret—but Winterland never falls into heavy-handed cynicism. Instead, it’s an album that can navigate the limbo of emotions that often come up around the holidays. If it doesn’t say anything new about this idea, it at least represents it well....full text |
| Thejigsawseen |
| The release of each new album from L.A. pop favorites The Jigsaw Seen is turning into an event of its own. The band’s 2010 Bananas Foster album now gives way to an even more accomplished pop effort called Winterland. Even if the weather outside says heat wave or hurricane, listening to Winterland is just a state of mind. All original kaleidoscopic images of winter times put into song is a pretty cool idea but these guys are pop legends and are up to the task. Sounding more like an album classic from 1969, Winterland features long time JS member Dennis Davison (vocals), along with Jonathan Lea (guitars), Tom Curier (bass) and Teddy Fresse. Not only is Winterland as interesting musically as Bananas Foster, but the prominent packaging is just as amazing. CD collectors take note; this is clearly the way to present a CD as a concept piece. Also taking part are a number of engineers including David Nolte, while the lone cover here—”Circle Of Steel” by Gordon Lightfoot—features harmony vocals from rock icon Dave Davies. Trust me, you won’t believe this timeless pop is about Christmas while the Winterland CD packaging also includes complimentary snow flakes just in case you forget....full text |
| Americana-uk |
| The Jigsaw Seen have been the complete package for some time; they are meticulous in creating not just the music but the packaging that surrounds it (the last record even came with a recipe card), so it’s no surprise that their seasonal offering is thought through, sequenced intelligently and comes in a lovely festive sleeve. They are in danger of bringing credibility back to the whole seasonal enterprise. Sensibly, they avoid heavy reliance on seasonal cliché. Your run of the mill Xmas by numbers song wouldn’t begin with "cataclysmic temperatures abound, slush and powder form a gelid compound", but then it wouldn’t have title like ‘Snow Angels of Pigtown’. Slipping easily onto the list is a decent cover of Gordon Lightfoot’s ‘Circle of Steel’ with Dave Davies adding backing vocals. The ring and chime of 12 string guitars adds a seasonal frosting to songs like ‘What About Christmas?’ which has enough punch in the verses and a lack of reliance on the C word so that it can be enjoyed responsibly at other times of the year. They keep their holiday powder dry, only breaking out the choir and the woodwinds for the end of the season. ‘Winterland’s Gone’ the closer gives in to the temptation to sound like a sparkling grotto and this is fine because it is a song about the nostalgia for a season past, a wave goodbye for another year....full text |
The Jigsaw Seen lyrics
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