ARTIST.....: Winnetka Bowling League TITLE......: Cloudy With A Chance Of Sun LABEL......: RCA Records GENRE......: Indie RIP DATE...: 2020-04-06 RETAIL DATE: 2019-04-25 RUNTIME....: 21:09 SIZE.......: 49,31 MB QUALITY....: 320Kbps 44.1kHz ENCODER/CODEC: LAME - MP3 (MPEG-2 AUDIO LAYER 3) URL........: https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Winnetka_Bowling_League_Cloudy_With_A_Chance_Of_Su?id=B7utn33hn7wseswt5zviq5f2r6a Track List: 01. Kombucha 3:15 02. Slow Dances 3:52 03. Diane 2:47 04. Sixteen 4:18 05. Something In The Air 3:15 06. Cloudy With A Chance Of Sun 3:42 Release Notes: At some point, every artist reaches a crossroads. Do you chase bankable work that keeps you paid in your chosen field, even if itÆs not necessarily fulfilling? Or do you pursue your art on your terms regardless of the outcome? Ignoring the lucky few who somehow find themselves in the thin overlapping sliver of that Venn Diagram, itÆs not an easy choice. For Matthew Koma, that forking path arose a couple years back. Having made a name for himself penning songs for the likes of pop juggernauts like Kelly Clarkson and Zedd, and perhaps best known for his vocal feature on TiestoÆs ôWasted,ö he found himself pigeon-holed. ôOn one hand, I was grateful to have my words heard through those mediums,ö he admits. ôBut ultimately it didnÆt feel authentic to what I wanted to be doing. I guess somewhere along the way you realize you have to make the decision now or never to do the stuff you really love.ö ItÆs a sunny Tuesday morning in the San Fernando Valley, that flat stretch of suburbia just north of Hollywood made famous by Boogie Nights and the airheaded bleached blondes who from whom every statement sounds like a question. Having lived here for six years, IÆm hard-pressed to name a more cozy neighborhood in LA. ItÆs the sort of place that invites observation. Sit on the curb along Ventura Blvd and youÆll see a world slowed way down. The details donÆt get lost in the ceaseless hustle like they do just over the hills to the south. Here the mundane takes on a nostalgic quality. Everyday moments awaken an emotional longing because theyÆre a part of everyoneÆs experience. WeÆve all fallen in love at the checkout counter, taken an impromptu road trip with friends, had our memories triggered by being in a particular place. Having found success in the pop an EDM realms, Koma wanted to retreat into this mindset. He wanted to write about what he knew, what was real to him. ThatÆs how Winnetka Bowling League was formed. He began with a simple idea, to create something that sounded more suitable to who he is. From there he penned ôOn the 5,ö an ethereal ode to the iconic California Freeway and the escapism it represents. It was so far out of the realm of what currently bore the Matthew Koma brand, that he didnÆt even feel like he could slap his own name on it. ôPeople had come to expect a certain sound from my name and I couldnÆt stray too far from that on my solo releases,ö he explains. ôI never felt I had the opportunity to do something that was purely myself.ö The solution? Style this new venture as a band. It was both an act of liberation and a return to his roots. ôThe act of having a band again and starting at ground zero without building on any existing fanbase freed me from all those expectations surrounding my name. ItÆs the purest and most true to myself thing IÆve ever done. I totally get to sit in a room and create stuff I think is cool.ö All that creative channeling falls under the new moniker Winnetka Bowling League. Though the name suggests that theyÆre a weekly bowling team in the Valley first (which is technically true), Koma and his team whip up a bevy of guitar-based pop that simultaneously sounds like an about-face from his songwriter days and their logical extension. Their self-titled EP last year introduced them as group set on baking wistful nostalgia into sweet three-minute packages (see the aforementioned ôOn the 5ö and the Beck-worshiping ôFeeling Californiaö). With this weekÆs release of their follow-up Cloudy with a Chance of Sun, that palette only broadens. The hooks are aplenty and the bleary-eyed longing cuts deep. ItÆs the perfect second course for what is sure to be a long, delicious meal of a career under the Winnetka name.