''Winter Games'' is the third studio album by American songwriter
Chris Garneau
Chris Garneau (born November 5, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Since releasing his debut album, '' Music for Tourists'' (2006), Garneau has toured throughout the United States, Canada, Brazil, Europe, and Asia.
He has relea ...
. It was released in 2013 by Private Friend,
Leaplay Music (Korea), Pocket Records (China) and in 2014 by Clouds Hill (Europe).
Recording
For this record Garneau asked his closest friends and family to write down their earliest memories of winter to serve as an inspirational base for the writing of these songs.
Garneau recorded in a farm in
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...
.
When asked about how different is the record compared to the other, Garneau answered "On ''Winter Games'' I feel like I really play music. There is much more freedom and experimentation with sound. There is much looser form and much more time and patience is given to explore instrumental and other ambient sound."
The album features horns and strings arrangements by
Rob Moose
Rob Moose (born 1982) is an American multi-instrumentalist, arranger, producer, conductor, and orchestrator. He primarily plays the violin, viola, and guitar.
Early life and education
Moose was born in 1982. He was raised in Windsor, Connec ...
and
CJ Camerieri
CJ Camerieri (born in New Jersey) is a trumpet and French horn player, arranger, and producer. Camerieri is best known as the brass player for Paul Simon, Bon Iver, and the contemporary classic ensemble yMusic. His extensive discography is highl ...
(both members of
Bon Iver
Bon Iver ( ) is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Vernon had originally formed Bon Iver as a solo project, but it eventually became a band consisting of Vernon (vocals, guit ...
and
yMusic
yMusic is an American sextet chamber ensemble from New York City. Consisting of a trumpet, flute, clarinet, violin, viola, and cello, the group was formed in Brooklyn by trumpeter CJ Camerieri and violinist Rob Moose in 2008.
Career
The ensem ...
).
Critical reception
The response by critics was generally positive. Maxime de Abreu for ''
Les Inrockuptibles
''Les Inrockuptibles'' (), abbreviated as ''Les Inrocks'', is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly in 1986, it became weekly in 1995. As of 2021, it returned to a monthly format. In the beginning, rock music was the magazine's prim ...
'' wrote it is "a magnificent third record". Marcel Schlutt for ''Kaltblut'' wrote "Winter Games isn’t a downer. In its own twisted way, it’s triumphant." Jacob Brown for ''
Vogue (magazine)
''Vogue'' (stylized in all caps), also known as American ''Vogue'', is a monthly Fashion journalism, fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers style news, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and Fashion show#Catwalk, runw ...
'' wrote "the songs inhabit a bigger, almost stratospheric aesthetic—none more so than “Oh God”—which possesses a new sound that positions him to a much larger audience."
Alex Panisch for ''
Out (magazine)
''Out'' is an American LGBTQ news, fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle magazine, with the highest circulation of any LGBTQ monthly publication in the United States. ''Out'' was owned by Robert Hardman of Boston, its original investor, until 2 ...
'' wrote "It's haunting, melancholy, and utterly spellbinding." French website Goûte mes disques wrote that ''Winter Games'' is "by far his most accomplished work."
Track listing
# "Our Man" – 4:52
# "Oh God" – 3:27
# "Winter Game #1" – 3:50
# "Winter Game #2" – 6:14
# "Danny" – 3:54
# "The Whore in Yourself" – 4:03
# "Reindeer" – 3:06
# "Pas Grave" – 4:50
# "Catherine" – 3:22
# "Switzerland" – 2:42
References
{{Authority control
2013 albums
Chris Garneau albums