High Bias

The Long Winters - Ultimatum
THE LONG WINTERS
Ultimatum
(Barsuk)
A stop-gap but more than just a holding pattern, Ultimatum marks time until the Long Winters' new record. Leader John Roderick graces the disk with some top-notch new tunes that really show his heart-stapled-to-sleeve pop at its best advantage. "You play hard to want," he croons on "Delicate Hands" in a voice approaching, but never reaching, anguish, "You're hard to crumble up/I belong to somebody already gone." The title cut, "Everything is Talking" and "The Commander Thinks Aloud" are just as good; a pair of live tracks round things out. Nice! Michael Toland