Dead Man Winter's new album Furnace is ideal listening if you'd like to "hole up with your feelings," as Andrea Swensson points out while talking with Dave Simonett and the band in The Current's studio. Furnace, was released on Simonett and Mark Gehring's label, GNDWIRE Records, on Jan. 27. To celebrate its release, Simonett stopped into the studios with JT Bates, Erik Koskinen, Tim Saxhaug and Bryan Nichols to play a few songs off the record and talk about its origins.

Simonett is Trampled by Turtles' lead vocalist/guitarist, but Dead Man Winter's song "This House Is on Fire" will also appeal to fans of another Duluth band: Low. It's not just because the title resembles Mimi Parker's "our house is on fire" lyric from "No Comprende." "This House Is on Fire" shares the mellow drums, deliberate BPM and unhurried bass guitar.

By contrast, "Destroyer" is a bit more upbeat, although it was inspired by the same event in Simonett's life. "All of these songs came pretty much directly from going through a divorce," he told Swensson, going into detail about the "therapeutic" songwriting process. If you're a fan of the studio version of "Destroyer," you might like the guitar work on this in-studio.

Also in guitar highlights, "I Remember This Place Being Bigger" features some lovely finger-picking – as well as bittersweet lyrics. "Other people like to tell me they had the same experience," Simonett sings, sounding like he's heard a lot of advice on hard, personal times. He later invokes images of "a faded stool in a faded bar" and "a frosted dawn with the ones we love."

If you're liking Dead Man Winter's new material, and especially if you want to see JT Bates drum three sets in a row (with Dead Man Winter, the Pines, and Erik Koskinen), grab a ticket for Feb. 10 in First Avenue's mainroom. Lutsen fans can see Dead Man Winter at GNDWIRE's annual ski party on Feb. 3.

Songs Performed

"This House Is on Fire"
"Destroyer"
"I Remember This Place Being Bigger"

All songs off Dead Man Winter's album Furnace, out now via GNDWIRE Records.

Hosted by Andrea Swensson
Produced by Andrea Swensson
Engineered by Mike DeMark
Visuals by Leah Garaas
Words by Cecilia Johnson

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