Although Rainbow Quartz is mostly known for powerpop, psych-pop and janglepop, they also release music from bands whose take on pop is more varied (ie Gallygows) or angular (ie Fraff). Both these adjectives are also valid for New Radiant Storm King - whilst Winter's Kill is basically an indiepop/indierock album, it spans a number of different styles within these genres. In the Spirit of Distance starts off the album, fooling you into expecting NRSK to be a typically Rainbow Quartz jangle/psych-pop band, but most of the tracks that follow are rather different from other bands on the label. There's off-centre indierock, atmospheric indiepop, songs with changey bits and pop with experimental elements, as well as Montague Terrace which returns to the jangly/psychey/powerpop style but with an off-kilter touch to parts of the song. Most Rainbow Quartz bands are strongly influenced by the 60s, but it's hard to pinpoint exactly who NRSK's influences are. If they have any influences at all, I can safely say they're not 60s bands. But despite NRSK's willingness to experiment with their music, this doesn't make them any less melodic. They make good tuneful songs with interesting and different ideas.

New Radiant Storm King had hit its stride in 1996 with Hurricane Necklace, its fourth and most mature album to date. However, the indie rock band went downhill from there, struggling to find a drummer and struggling with the realities of life — marriage, money, career opportunities, geographic locale, and so on. It was perhaps no surprise then that Singular No Article (1999), the band's fifth album, failed to reconnect with New Radiant Storm King's fanbase and went relatively unheard. And that's too bad since Singular No Article was a respectable album; granted, it was no Hurricane Necklace, but it still met an undeserving fate. It's perhaps fitting then that Winter's Kill follows suit in terms of style. On this album, released in 2002, the band seems to have put extra effort into making sure that Winter's Kill wouldn't meet the same unfortunate fate as Singular No Article. The songwriting is similar — incredibly varied and informed by indie rock precident — but the production is far more considered: these guys obviously devoted substantial effort into making sure these songs sound as wonderful as possible. And, thankfully, they do indeed sound wonderful; this is a beautiful sounding indie rock album, lo-fi yet a crystal-clear sort of lo-fi where none of the instruments — guitar, bass, Rhodes piano, Hammond organ, synth — sound the same from song to song. New Radiant Storm King have done everything possible to make Winter's Kill the best album it can possibly be, and the results are undoubtedly glorious. The only thing really lacking here — besides the band's one-time fanbase and critical following — is the naïveté that masterminds Matt Hunter and Peyton Pinkerton had in the early to mid-'90s. Back then you could sense the duo's passion and enthusiasm; they were coming of age as indie rockers. Here you can sense their experience and patience; they know how to make a perfect indie rock album at this point in their career. It's this aim for perfection that ironically prevents this album from being the true masterpiece it perhaps should. After all, can you — or, perhaps, should you — perfect indie rock? Part of its beauty is its sense of accident; you can't create spontenaete and you can't revisit naïve discovery, two of the qualities that still make Hurricane Necklace New Radiant Storm King's crowning achievement, even if Winter's Kill is indeed a near-perfect indie rock album. Either way, though, it's great to see this band pull itself back together after its late-'90s turmoil.

A decade and four albums into their career, New Radiant Storm King remain an unfamiliar name to many; judge them by their friends then: Peyton Pinkerton has filled his time playing with Joe Pernice (whose producer and touring partner Thom Monahan takes the controls here), Matt Hunter with the Wharton Tiers Ensemble, while both have spent time with Silver Jews. As you would expect, ‘Winter’s Kill’ is an elegantly crafted, only-in-America album that displays the college rock roots of its protagonists while transcending that and every other genre. It’s the purity of the vision that stands out here; echoes of their peer group are present and correct, yet New Radiant Storm King are more than merely the sum of their influences. First and foremost they’ve taken the time to write good songs and attach to them a good tune. It’s a remarkably simple idea; one can only wonder why so few others give it a try.

Having been around for quite some time now, this could be the one that gives Massachusetts' New Radiant Storm King their well-deserved break. Subtle but hugely upbeat college-rock, like Pavement covering The Beach Boys, or like Hüsker Dü jamming with Tom Petty, this album is spilling over with ideas and hooks, making each song a radio hit in a better world. "Golden Parachute" is glorious, psychedelic trash, "Colony Falls" is power-popping prog, "Constellation Prize" is enjoyably cynical retro-indie, while the title track is pure, unadulterated, moody pop. And so on. Too good to be ignored, NRKS have made a truly impressive album that will stay stuck in your CD player for a very long time.

The sixth album by Northampton, Mass., trio New Radiant Storm King glimmers with psychedelic guitar and gorgeous vocals and harmonies, all enhanced by crystal-clear production that practically puts the drums and bass in your lap. The music glides effortlessly from soothing to edgy and rocking, incorporating artsy distorto blasts and dynamics recalling bands from Pell Mell to the Beatles, Elliot Smith and Dinosaur Jr.--whose front man, J Mascis, lent equipment for this recording. (Perhaps some of the ghosts of early Dino Jr. infiltrated the recording tape, because the songs here have strong ties to the sound of the early days of indie rock, before every band became compared to either Pavement or Nirvana.) Robert Pollard of Guided by Voices has credited NRSK as a major influence on his songwriting, and listening to the title track, "Winter's Kill," one can imagine that it is GBV.

On the song "Constellation Prize," NRSK experiments with trippy beats and imaginative production techniques (like fuzzed-out bass drum), and it works well, but the best material on this album seems less self-conscious. The outstanding track, "Viejo," is the kind of song that, if put on a mix tape, will cause wear and tear from being constantly rewound and repeated.

It's been three years since the last NRSK release, as the members also contribute to bands Wharton Tiers and Pernice Brothers. Since its debut album in 1992, NRSK has released critically acclaimed albums to a rather uninterested mass audience, but its indie-rock sensibilities and intelligent lyrics propel it above the glossy-magazine picks and ensure the group as an important contributor to the real world of independent rock music.