CREDIT: EVAN DICKSON
English Words' Red Potion is the perfect background music for a stormy winter day.

I write about random things a lot. I write a lot about random things. If this was your first midterm season at Fanshawe, you probably didn't know that it always rains and storms like that for a couple of weeks. And if you don't believe me, well... maybe together we can convince the freshmen next year.

Sadly, the return of midterms every year brings with it my least favourite occasion of all: the weekend that Daylight Savings Time ends. That one hour lost serves as an ironic reminder that we're going to be spending a lot more time indoors, so consider this a reminder to start gathering music to keep you comfortable through the coming winter.

The way I see it, if you've got to be stuck inside most of the time, you should be able to find comfort in a lot of great music.

That said, it's a widely accepted fact that being stuck inside can also ignite and foster creativity. Take for example English Words, an alternative rock band from Prince Edward Island. Taking inspiration from the snow-covered landscape before them, the band reinvented their sound and began crafting an album of thick ambient pop music, the likes of which have been seldom seen since the close of the 1980s.

"We're pretty restless guys," laughed Ryan Crane, frontman and vocalist. The band whiled away the time deep in their record collections and found inspiration in the offerings of new wave, alternative and Britpop albums they found there.

The result is Red Potion, their debut full-length album recorded in only five days and released September 18. Produced by Matt McQuaid of Holy Fuck, the album also represents a new direction for the band in composing, also; the band invested in new gear and software to improve upon their demoing, capturing more immediate compositions between the Crane brothers and building the songs as collaborations.

The band — comprised of Crane; his brother Aaron on synths, samples and drum machines; Todd MacLean on synths; Andrew Murray on guitars; and Thayne Campbell on bass — were here in Ontario a couple of weeks ago with Always and Boxer The Horse to promote Red Potion.

"The record comes out, but it doesn't end there — you don't just release the record, climb to number two on Billboard and then go on tour for six months," Crane said, describing the process of releasing an album as one that takes upwards of a year, if not longer. "You work your butt off trying to promote it to get people that haven't heard it to listen to it, and we're in that process right now."

Even if you aren't familiar with the group's musical past and the new direction they've taken, Red Potion is sure to surprise you. From the disarming opening chords and sharp guitars of "Bumblebee" to the floating, effervescent first single "People I Love," the band displays incredible range, informed by a broad foundation of textures seemingly widely forgotten in decades past; there was a remarkable amount of time and care that went into this recording, and it shows.

Crane professed a cautious optimism when speaking of the album; in addition to new inspiration and a revamped approach to creating music, everything seems to be moving (and gaining momentum) at a natural pace.

"It's always exciting when you're given an opportunity to do something new, and especially something you don't have a lot of previous experience with," Crane explained. "I find the less familiar you are with a certain sound, the better chance there is for you to do something new and interesting. With the drum machine, we can do anything we want, we find it a very flexible format to work with."

It's fitting that such a record, born in the snow-packed Prince Edward Island winter, would make for such good company now as night starts to fall before many classes here on campus even end for the day.

For more on English Words, their new album or future tour dates, visit the band online at englishwordsband.com or follow on Twitter @theenglishwords. Stream Red Potion on their website and be sure to catch them on their next trip to Ontario.

For more of the latest music news, streams and coming events, consider following this column on Twitter @fsu_bobbyisms. Here's hoping you've all made it through midterms safe and sound, I'm out of words.