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Kristian Montgomery and the winterkill band
Rutland, Vermont, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2022 | SELF | AFTRA
Music
Press
The Gravel Church is country fried rock, alt country, rock, folk,pop and roots music all rolled into one. - Rock at Night Magazine
Kristian has lost, found, Broken and rebuilt all along using his voice and his music to heal and share his remarkable life. - Country 102.5 Carolyn Kruse
A sterling work of Americana and roots rock - The Patriot ledger
Kristian Montgomery and the winterkill band release must listen cd. - Houston music review
One of the best roots albums to come out of New England in a very longtime - Bill Copeland music news
Explore the unique world of Kristian montgomery and the winterkill band. This album is a nice place to stay awhile. - Nashville country music magazine
It goes to show that light can form out of Darkness and the Gravel church is a testament to that fact - Skope magazine
Country and classic rock are not genres that are naturally grouped together. Kristian has blended the 2 together beautifully to create guitar solos with a bit of twang, rockn roll n roll mixed with a bit of classic Americana.With this "New" sound" he has released his 1st full length album. - The Beat critiques
Only someone who has lived through these experiences could write lyrics like this. - The alternative mix tapes
The bands roots grow over multiple genres honing in on their love of country and rock while incorporating different elements of sounds from different genres to deliver "A New" experience to the music scene - Buzz Music
A fantastic album and a true breath of fresh air in the resurgent country music genre - We write about music
American fire is a single with a Nashville melodrama sound which instantly captures your attention with its magical sound - That blogger music
Kristian has a lovely voice that suites his music perfectly and impressive guitar work - York calling (london)
Kristian Montgomery has created a "Watershed record " in The Gravel church. - Limelight magazine
Everything country and rock n roll is supposed to be - Americana music magazine
I thoroughly enjoyed the sound and artistry of the Gravel church - The country column
The things Kristian survived are so dramatic that they seem like a theme in a country song and indeed those hard times figures into the roots rock songs he writes - Palm Beach post
The album is a grungier take on country rock with full guitars and heartfelt lyrics - Three chords country
Kristian has a created a musical masterpiece in the Gravel church - Metronome magazine Boston
Doesn't usually cover country artist but gave a great review of the single - Seths rock report
KMWKB bring together so many wonderful sounds into one package im at a loss for words as to where to begin. - Wild roots Magazine
A good Q and A - Indie music discovery
Q&A - Indie interview with rc
Q&A - MEET-COUNTRY
The Gravel church is a unique collection of songs from a man who has live a Haggard kind of life - The country Angel
French language review - Direct-actu
A great radio show inBoston - Bumble bee radio
Spanish language blog in Ecuador - Indie criollo
French language blog - Alongsidenashville
Q%A - Music of the future
This song is typically them, if you follow them you'll love it. If you don't your missing out - Nashville sessions
Interview with Kristian - Cape cod times
Spanish language review - Rhodiemusic
Review - I am music critics
Kristian was kind enough to share B-side single 'Soul for Soul' with us, a stunning acoustic country track that couples Montgomery's raspy vocals with the use of a harpsichord to create a unique, fully rounded performance. - Middle eight
American fire holds nothing back - Recording artist guild
https://trexroads.altervista.org/prince-of-poverty-kristian-montgomery-the-winterkill-band-2021-english/ - Trex roads
Kristian Montgomery dives deep on Prince of Poverty - The Patriot ledger/Brockton Enterprise
A Q&A with Kristian - Crazy on classic rock
Warm grave opens with a emotionally driven acoustic guitar, the lyrics are close to the chest with a southern twang - Premier source music
Kristian Montgomery and the winterkill band have a unique blend of country, alternative and rock. - John's music hub
Q&A with Kristian - The review fix
Q&A with Kristian - For everyone now
He performs songs that are raw and real - Rock at night
A bloggers take on the last 2 albums - Confessions of a music geek blog
Kristian is the outlaw artist we hoped would return - Interviews with rc
Montgomery hasn't stopped writing and recording - The patriot ledger
Spanish language review - Rhodie music
Theirs a immediate sense of ragged rage - Worcester Magazine
Montgomery has one of the more colorful stories I've come across and I've come across a lot of colorful stories - Ear2theground music blog
Kmwkb take us through a spell binding and tumultuous journey of well crafted song writing and engaging tracks - Review of they'll remember my name
Montgomery and his band of merry men dropped another hard charging rocking roots album - Bill Copeland music news
The album has a uplifting hopeful characteristics to it that allows you to escape the doldrums into a bombastic paradise - Music box pete
Goes great with a glass of Scottish whiskey - Mangorave music blog
Album review - John's music hub
Much edgier than the gravel church with jangly hooks and a strong rootsy foundation - Mixerr reviews blog
Thos album defines his sound and is sure to give him a seat at the table with major label artists. - Amplify music magazine
Neil Young style rock combined with country, blues and country rock - Fiercely Americana
Strong and worthy ensemble of alt country and Americana tracks with straight aim and worldly balance - Listening through the lines
Review of Prince of poverty - Sarah m korongo music blog S Africa
Local Boston music blog - Geoff Wilbur music blog
A music blog via the Netherlands - Roots cafe
Review of the new record - Pump it up magazine
A music blog in the Midwest - The country Angel
A great interview - CAPE NEWS
Cool interview out of upstate NY - Nippertown
Kristian Montgomery and the winterkill band bring Appalachian rock to Bondvilel - Bennington Banner
Review - Seven days VT
Review - Worcester magazine
Review - Times Argus
Review - Bill Copeland music news
Review - Music box pete
Review of single - Country queer
Review from the Netherlands - Bluestone music
Chile based blog - Roadie metal
Review - Music street journal
Review out of Washongton DC - Music to my ears blog
Review/feature - NYS Music
Review - The Enterprise
Interview - City wide black out
Review - Rock at night
Review - Rock at Night
Review - Nippertown
Q&A - Country queer
Q&A music review - Bennington banner
Interview - NYS Music
Album review of A Heaven for Hertics - Rutland Herald
Cd review of a Heaven for Heretics - Bill Copeland music news
Album review - Music Box pete
Interview , music review - Brattleboro reformer
Song review - Music to my ears
Song review - Nagamag
Album review - Sevendaysvt
Single review - Seth's rock report
Review by Eric Harbardian - Aoide magazine
Florida native Kristian Montgomery settled easily into Vermont life when he moved here in 2020, making a happy home in Wallingford complete with goats, horses and fowl. His sound, on the other hand, may not have fit into the Green Mountain musical landscape quite as well. - Sevendaysvt
Browse: Home / 2023 / October / Kristian Montgomery & The Winterkill Band maintain high standards, take risks on Lower County Outlaw
Kristian Montgomery & The Winterkill Band maintain high standards, take risks on Lower County Outlaw
By Bill Copeland on October 1, 2023
Kristian Montgomery & The Winterkill Band punched out this Lower County Outlaw album in recent months. Montgomery & The Winterkill Band, as usual, rock right out with the aggression of a knife wielding street gang. As with their last three albums KMTWB rip the soulfulness out of country and muscle it into a rock and roll attitude.
Opening track “Submit To My Transmission” finds the band staring out with some trippy lead guitar picking and a profoundly sad, forlorn lead vocal. Its low key, down tempo approach does not mask the build up in Montgomery’s simmering attitude. Before long, he’s belting with soulful sustains and a lead guitar eruption spikes, burning more brightly as it hits ever higher notes. A mellow vocal sweep moves around the guitar spark to create a contrast between soul and pain. Nice touch.
“Around And Around” features a mischievous lead guitar line spiraling around Montgomery’s lofty vocal cruise. This singer keeps his wide smooth voice in the midst of intimidating guitar action. That he can remain as vital as the cutting guitar line shows his strength as a vocalist as well an arranger. His tuneful rhythm section keep a pulpy, juicy groove beneath the upper register rumble.
“The Long Gone Blues” burns right into the listener’s awareness with a smoldering lead guitar. Its smoky phrase moves aside to let Montgomery emote vocally over a groove that’s party shuffle, part rocking. Montgomery puts his three cents in, displaying his world weary view and startling tale with a sturdy assertion. Giving more credibility to this number is an earthy organ swirl. It gives another heaping scoop of soul while the vocal sustains with masculine authority and the lead guitar screams with finality, an ending that does justice.
“The 4th of July” eventually erupts into another bonfire of blistering electric guitar and soaring, sweeping lead vocals. Its high flying act remind of how things, like the flying trapeze, can go very wrong if one part of the act doesn’t coincide with another. Like a fireworks display, it begins with one large impression at a time. This starts out with a slow swagger, Montgomery singing his metaphor with wide gentlemanly aplomb, walking it out over a jittery electric guitar line and a subtle groove. Soon, a fiery slab of electric guitar starts wailing before its wails turn to screams and we feel we’re all heading to a grand finale, a finale we may or may not like. It’s amazing how well this outfit builds tensions and moods.
Pushy guitars, bossy bass guitar, and a plucky drummer push “I Don’t Know What’s Real Anymore” straight into existence. Montgomery belts out his lyrical frustration with diffidence as electric guitar chord progressions pound the message home. Aside from the blunt, hammerhead shark approach to rock and roll, there are subtle shifts in the slapping guitar chords, growling phrase, and a two fisted rhythm section. It’s an aggressive song but it has plenty of moving parts to keep it interesting.
“Somebody’s Baby Mama” benefits from a jumpy groove, sudden stop and start punctuation in the guitar, and a rush of drum fills. Its hard driving groove gives the electric guitar a rocky trail to ride with plenty of bumpy action and a throw caution to the wind tempo. Let’s see if they can all play this one in sync when they’re in concert.
Gritty bits of guitar lead us into “Gypsy Girl,” a down tempo singer-songwriter affair with an edge. Montgomery makes the most of his wide handsome vocal sweep, sending it out like a lasso over the main action from the guitars. When he belts out his lyrics, Montgomery’s heart and soul can be felt in his palpable expression.
“Easy To Forget You When I’m Gone” makes for a restful, easy going number amid all of the tension laden Montgomery pieces on this album. This slow burner finds Montgomery at his most soulful, his voice having lots of space among down tempo, unobtrusive groove and guitar phrasing. It reminds of “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd in its wide, expressive, and graceful motions.
Montgomery & The Winterkill Band are back to their old tricks in “The Girl With The Gage’s In Her Ear.” This is one of those KMTWB numbers that features them playing so many moving parts that you, again, have to wonder if they can match it when they play live. The authoritative groove hits hard as Montgomery sprawls his forceful lyrics and chorus through the landscape and the guitars jump around and hit home with hearty smacks.
A blistering lyrical attack on a local music scene short changer, “Annie, Pay Your Band” becomes a universal theme about people who take advantage when they don’t have to pay up front. Ahem. This one never pay at all. Montgomery, when he sustains the lyric “Annie, pay your bbbbbbaaaaaannnndddddd,” he sings with an undeniable anger. The song, though focusing on an unscrupulous person, has a “Maxwell Silver Hammer” type humor in its repetition. Montgomery has been around a long time and he knows the type that’s been kicked out of the crossroads, and he seems to have come across a real devil’s spawn.
A strong 1970s flavor, “A Little Lower” draws in the listener with a nostalgic wave for that decade’s songwriting. The chorus could remind of anything from Hall & Oates to Lynyrd Skynyrd to Eric Clapton to The Chi-Lites. It’s catchy as hell and feels reassuringly familiar as it remains wholly new and original. Its tastefully brittle guitar line is another draw, a serious tenderness that politely walks us right up to that million dollar chorus.
Closing track “Lost In Memphis” showcases Montgomery belting out with a bluesy fierceness. Supporting his pipes are a lattice work of aggressive groove that can knock down doors, mounds of jumpy guitar, and a considerate pace. Montgomery’s vocal heft and his battle hardened band make the listener feel the muscle in all of the moving parts here.
Montgomery and his Winterkill Band maintain on this Lower Count Outlaw album their own standards of excellence that we’ve all been seeing on his previous three albums, all released within the last few years. Lower County Outlaw, produced by Andrew Koss at The Studios At Strawberry Fields, increases somewhat the already established creativity that this outfit brings into the recording studio. They try some different kinds of dissonance, contrasts, and subtle guitar playing styles with good results. Their 12 tracks are all winsome and “A Little Lower” could get them even more air play as time goes on and more and more people find out about this band that fuses the soul of two different genres, driving outlaw country and excitingly raw rock and roll. - Bill Copeland Music News
It’s the 4th album in 3 years for this “lower county outlaw.” No one could ever accuse singer-songwriter Kristian Montgomery of slacking off on the job. The Vermont-based musician is certainly one of the hardest working cats in show business. He’s grown up all around the country — Florida, New Orleans and Boston, to be exact. In fact, he originally made a splash on the Boston scene and garnered considerable attention with previous recorded efforts. But since his re-location to the mountains and adoption of farm life, he has more keenly refined and sharpened his musical approach.
Montgomery’s latest and greatest features some of his best and most compelling songs to date. And he’s joined by celebrated producer-engineer/drummer Andrew Koss (Alicia Keys, John Legend), guitarist John Clark, and bassists Dave Leitch and Mark Harding. These are “genre bending songs that are lived in,” according to Montgomery on his website. And there is no doubt that the detail and honesty of his songs and stories come through.
This Americana-flavored and Cajun-spiced and rootsy thrill ride begins with “Submit to My Transmission.” There are some hellacious guitars featured here that are balanced by cool, subtle ambience and a reflective, testimonial tone.
“Around and Around” spotlights great rocking hooks and dovetails the groove with an earthy vocal. There is an interesting modulation technique in the melody that is subliminal and infectious.
“The Long Gone Blues” states “When you got nothin’ you got nothin’ to lose” and “Now that she’s got everything I guess she wants me too.” There is a tinge of cynicism wrapped in a jaunty country feel.
A screaming guitar defines the tuneful and dynamic “The 4th of July.” And that leads into the truth seeking “I Don’t Know What’s Real Anymore.” Montgomery simply asks, “Are you real?” over an ample wall of guitars and rhythm. This is a pleasing blend of stinging leads, an interesting bridge and rich harmonies.
“Somebody’s Baby Mama” recalls Joker-era Steve Miller, with the line “I bet you’re sweet, but you’re somebody’s baby mama now.” It’s got an infectious upbeat groove and an early Allman Brothers sensibility as well.
“Gypsy Girl” is a catchy souped-up femme fatale cautionary tale which is followed by the somewhat melancholy “Easy to Forget You When I’m Gone.” It’s a first person account of a relationship that is consistent with Montgomery’s no nonsense lyrical style.
The oddly titled “The Girl With Gages in Her Eyes” has a rocking, vibrant kick, with a retro alternative vibe that, to this reviewer, recalls Robert Palmer or Dire Straits.
“Annie Pay Your Band” is a pleasant country blues number and paves the way for the cool and somewhat funky “A Little Lower.” The indelible chorus and lilting bluesy guitars will get you going.
And the finale sounds like a real audience favorite, with “Lost in Memphis.” This is a rootsy rocker built on a sturdy and memorable groove. Smooth wah-wah guitar and wailing vocals wrap this release on a high note.
Kristian Montgomery’s Cajun-laced, blue collar sound is unique and familiar at the same time. He has a singular vision that is pop-oriented and relatable, yet cerebral, auto-biographical and edgy.
Looking Ahead
You can catch some Kristian Montgomery & the Winterkill Band performances, as the band is out gigging, including this upcoming Saturday, October 28th show at Nashville of Saratoga in Saratoga Springs, NY. Follow the band’s Facebook and Instagram accounts for future show announcements.
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Discography
The Gravel church
Prince of poverty
A Heaven for heretics
Lower county outlaw
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Bio
If this is the age of the outsider, Kristian Montgomery might be starting to fit in... but don't tell him that. Montgomery grew up poor, prefers to catch his own meals on the waters off Cape Cod and has always felt his music defies genre. A lack of belonging colors his worldview, and he wouldn't have it any other way. The battle between searching for common ground and accepting his otherness informs much of his songwriting. On his second pandemic release, Prince of Poverty (out 3/5), Montgomery and his winterkill band pursue an edgier sound than on last year's The Gravel Church, which was largely penned while he served out a prison sentence. From the Replacements-reminiscent barroom swagger of "Don't Call Me Baby" to the clanging anthem, "They'll Remember My Name," and the jangly hooks through "That Kind of Love," the band oozes no nonsense, authentic blue-collar spirit that's keenly balanced with clever songwriting. The brooding defiance in "Soul for Soul" puts the focus on Montgomery's grunge-crooner vocals, while the banjo-propelled gallop of both "Working Hands" and "American Fire" show off the band's rootsy foundation. Uninspired by the recent turns in the world of mainstream country, Montgomery and Co. take their Americana into a space that's simultaneously restless, rugged, and ragged, while still plenty infectious. It's an impressive tightrope act. Now his 4th album in 3 years "Lower County Outlaw " is complete. 2024 has a lot in store for Kristian and company. They've begun work on "Prophets of the apocalypse". This new work is going to expand on the genre bending song writing that you've become accustomed to from Kristian. New sounds and feels are about to reach your ears.
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