At first blush everything about Wintersleep (except maybe their outfits) seems like it'd come from north of the Wall in 'Game of Thrones' -- their band name, their icy-blue new album cover. And actually, they do hail from the north -- Nova Scotia, to be precise. But if you're thinking minimal, icy shoegaze, you're on the wrong track. In fact, their new single 'Resuscitate,' from their fifth full-length 'Hello Hum,' is a warm and irresistible indie rock tune, and its influence hails from a different climate entirely: Ethiopia.

"'Resuscitate' was one of the first tracks we started to demo for the record," drummer Loel Campbell tells Diffuser.fm. "I had that rhythm, the kind of poly-rhythm thing happening that I wanted to try after returning to Montreal from visiting my sister in Ethiopia and picking up some of the culture's beats and rhythms. I demoed it by myself (working title 'Hooked on a Feeling'), then showed it to Paul. He dug it and then we tweaked it a bit to be in a major key and made it a little less brooding. Paul came up with the melodies really quickly -- in like one or two jams of the song. From there, we tweaked the arrangement. There was a half time bit in it that went away. We dropped in more of those syncopated pre/post chorus bits as much as possible; that was a Fridmann call I believe. The outro came from jamming it with Mike a bunch too. Wanted to really blow the ending out on the record, which we feel we achieved."

Fridmann is Dave Fridmann, the acclaimed producer who's worked with Flaming Lips, Mogwai and Weezer, to name just a few. Though Wintersleep have been around 10 years, they just won a Juno award for Best New Act in 2008, and their new record 'Hello Hum' promises to be a breakout record for the band. Check here for tour dates, and grab 'Resuscitate' below.

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