Til I Prune

iTunes Review

One of Oakland, California's best-kept secrets, Winfred E. Eye excels at playing a kind of slow burning Americana perfect for crawling back to bed on rainy weekends. They often get compared to (and share the stage with) Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter for good reason — the opening "Oh So Free" plays with similarly heavy-lidded tempos and elongated country-slides on the electric guitar — though "Lil Peck" moves with faster-pedaling tempos to make for a tune that would well accompany a backwoods party. The aptly titled "Sleeping" is another frame-by-frame paced tune that recalls early recordings by San Francisco's the Court and Spark with its heavily delayed twang and beautifully melancholic themes. The title track moves at the same snail's pace, hoisted higher by uplifting melodies and pastoral poetry, employing lyrics strengthened by subtle vocal harmonies. "Mighty Dirty River" closes with the sparse and atmospheric haze of a Red House Painters number.