Formed in the fog of the timeline around the fall of the Twin Towers, the death of Elliott Smith, the peak influence of Pitchfork and the dawn of the iPod, the members of Winterpills met and began making music in the old-fashioned winter of 2003 in the shambolic Northampton, MA music scene. At first 4 friends who all knew each other’s songs and talents and had all recently suffered a common adult loss of some kind or another (a dead parent, some breakups, a custody battle, etc), they gleefully stumbled upon their sound: Flora Reed and Philip Price’s harmonies and “heartrending” songwriting (so says No Depression), Dennis Crommett’s tender shoegaze guitar, Dave Hower’s unclassifiable drumming, and later on Max Germer’s moonlit bass feel. "Winterpills gradually builds elegant arrangements... While the gathered instruments offer some solace, the songs stay haunted,“ wrote Jon Pareles in the New York Times.

The cinematic pop songs came effortlessly and partly channelled the freshly mourned Smith, a bit of the dust of Big Star, Low, Innocence Mission – and something else all their own. “I don’t know why Winterpills aren’t one of the most cherished pop bands in the world,” wrote Jonathan Lethem in Rolling Stone: “Their songs are mournful, slow-exploding and lyrically dazzling, and their albums have a coherence that’s rare.”

2025 marks the 20th anniversary of their eponymous first album, and the band is celebrating with a remastered reissue with bonus tracks. Over the past 20 years, the band has released 7 albums and numerous singles and EPs, has spent weeks both on the road and in the woodshed, and won’t relent.

Now, the band returns with their first album in nine years. "This Is How We Dance" deepens their catalog of elegant chamber pop that’s “haunting…downright glorious when the harmonies start, as crisp and shining as crystal” (The Washington Post). Consummate masters of the slow burn, Winterpills have nurtured a singular aesthetic over the course of their 20 years together: lush and often gritty instrumentation, poetic and vulnerable lyrics, celestial harmonies, and cinematic arrangements that stealthily pull you in.

Emerging from the hiatus of the pandemic, Winterpills dove hearts-first into crafting the album's 12 songs, in a string of inspired creative sessions in the band's living rooms and basements. The resulting album feels at once personal and universal, and showcases the evolution of a band still restless and exploring new ways to collaborate. Teaming up with producer Dave Chalfant––who had a production role in the band's first 2 albums––brought the new record full circle. “Like all good things, this is a band that defies easy labeling…aswirl with voices, guitars and other shimmering delights.” (MAGNET)"An ice-filigreeing-the-bare-trees sound, cold and achingly beautiful -- is what sets this group apart... downright glorious when the harmonies start, as crisp and shining as crystal." - The Washington Post