Album Review :
Words In Windows - Balloons!

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Band: Words In Windows
Title: Balloons!
Label: N/A
Release Date: 2009
Review By: Scott L

Tracklisting:

01. Ears That Listen In
02. More Divine
03. A World White
04. To Send Eyes
05. Ask And See
06. All This Will Become
07. When Morning Wakes

So I’m at work. I’m sitting at my desk looking past my computer monitor and out a window. From where I sit I have a perfect view of four intersecting bike paths; so there’s always something going on out there that catches my attention. Today is no different. The sun is shining, it’s about 74 degrees, and a little girl in a pink bike helmet has just wiped out into the grass with a woefully forced shriek. Her mother dutifully responds. The little girl points to her knee. Her mom leans down and kisses the little girl’s knee. They smile at each other, get back on their bikes, and away they go… good as new. And I’m left thinking about how wonderful it would be if everything in life was that simple.

Consider Words In Windows, a 5-piece out of Abilene, Texas that is the epitome of simple. Now when I say simple… I don’t mean simplistic. And I certainly don’t mean simple-minded. Or anything else negative for that matter. What I mean is more along the lines of streamlined. Unencumbered. Fluff and pretense have been cut off and what you come away with is a sleek musical experience that offers a surprising amount of diversity while keeping things uncluttered and straight forward.

Word In Windows plays a mellow indie rock along the same lines as Future Of Forestry, Turn Off The Stars, and The Myriad. Some of it is actually a lot like Future Of Forestry. They label themselves as a “worship influenced indie band”. And I’d say that’s pretty accurate.

Lyrically, Words In Windows’ 7-song EP, “Balloons!”, maintains a decent focus and doesn’t side-step the band’s spirituality. Not as up front as some, but certainly not as vague as others. These guys write simple heart-felt messages that have a tendency to get just a bit repetitive at times. However, most of the lyrics are well articulated and actually pretty good. Check out “All This Will Become” for example, “with You we go further / than we’ve ever been before / this view’s become sharper / for seeing what’s in store / for all / for all that You have done / and all / and all / and all this will become / and we’re waiting for You to come back down / waiting for You now / sing along / it’s the song of salvation / sing along / with the song of salvation / we are waiting for You / we are / we are waiting for You”.

Standout track was “More Divine”. Because how amazingly groovy is this song? Really groovy? I’m sorry, the answer was way super insanely groovy. Plus tax.

Overall: Words In Windows keeps things pretty simple, yet pretty fresh with “Balloons!”. They don’t stray too much from the path trod by indie bands that have gone before them but still manage to offer the listener a well-crafted musical experience. And is that a real deal Hammond? Sweet!  

www.myspace.com/wordsinwindows