Winter McQuinn and Friends – Where Are We Now?

Winter McQuinn’s third record “Where Are We Now?” (via Third Eye Stimuli) is the Melbourne/Naarm psych-folk and soft rock purveyor’s most ambitious, collaborative and pop-leaning effort yet. Led by McQuinn, the 9 track album features co-writing and recording sessions with the likes of Dylan Young (Way Dynamic), Feign Jima, Hot Apple Band, Shelby De Fazio (Bad Bangs), Chet Sounds, Acacia Coates, GFS and Rudy Polacheck. The album continues the introspective and environmentally conscious lyricism that McQuinn has become known for, where he digs a little deeper inwards and ponders our existence and what it means to live a fulfilling life on this earth. McQuinn asks us to pause and consider; where are we heading?

Winter McQuinn recorded almost all of the record from his home studio in Northcote, Melbourne/Naarm. It was pieced together over two years (2023-2024) with McQuinn writing the bones of the instrumentals and then bringing in artists to write the vocals and melody together. Each song features a different vocalist, with McQuinn taking lead vocals on just two songs and it was also the first time that McQuinn wrote songs entirely on piano, which brought a new style to his songwriting. Mixed by Dylan Young (Way Dynamic, Cool Sounds, Good Morning) and Snowy (Good Morning, Snowy Band), the production is top tier and emphasises the warm, nostalgic pop tones of the album perfectly.