Stand still, the sun: solstice is a point in the year that signals change and points us toward reflection, a moment to pause and take stock. Gathered from their years-deep store of inspiration, July Talk prepare for winter with the official release of Solstice, a covers EP celebrating some of their favourite artists and songs.

my band is better than your band
we got more songs than a song convention sing it

Mclusky’s “To Hell With Good Intentions” kicks off like a winter storm, but lasts only as long as the first snow, as Peter Dreimanis’ heated wail melts faces along with feet as we move along with kicking, marching drums. Its fuzzy, grungey bassline adds fuel to firey lyrics, while the classic July Talk guitar sound — distorted, heavy and wavy results in a salty, sweaty mess that will have you heading south, with good intentions, for the winter.

Moved out of the house so you moved next door
I locked you out, you cut a hole in the wall
I found you sleeping next to me, I thought I was alone
You're driving me crazy, when are you coming home?

As the road is paved with good intentions, at the end you must lay in the bed you make. Here, two voices are better than one on the 1993 James classic, “Laid”, which screams out for cozy days swapping selves and salves. Held by a steady, rocking beat, and an arrangement paying sweet homage to the original, Leah Fay Goldstein wails into the upper registers, full of passionate pining that leave us spent and happy.

I'm never gonna give up
Though I'm probably gonna think about you all the time
And for the lovers who found a mirrored heart
They just remind me I'm without you

In keeping with the slow, aching pace of FKA twigs’ haunting, “Mirrored Heart”, here the song is stripped down to vocals and piano, highlighting the beauty held between creative twins, Dreimanis and Fay, as they dance around a duet, a call and answer between two hearts who have found their equal.

I reach my soft hand out to her
I've loved her for a very, very, very long time

As sparse as a maple in January and as delicate as a snowflake, “Venus Stopped the Train” was part of Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot sessions, but never made it on the final album. This version feels as intimate as being invited into the singers’ home, to catch them singing it by candlelight, invoking a holy spirit.

Custer died for our sins
Now a new day must begin

Never ones to shy away from responsibility, “Custer Died For Your Sins” is a Country song turned inwards and upon themselves, switching the original Floyd Red Crow Westerman lyric from, “Custer died for your sins” to “our sins” and swapping out twangy guitars for distorted, soaring rock rhythms.

With the winter solstice passing, there’s no better way to end July Talk’s EP of thoughtful covers than with this message, as the days begin to grow longer again, as the Earth begins its slow tilt back around and we start to see more of the light we long for. Sing it.

THE HORIZON LINE PLAYLIST:
Listen to this week's Horizon Line playlist inspired by July Talk's Solstice EP.