The Last Day of Winter exudes emotion through exquisite songcraft and memorable melodies. Ranging from Kinks-inspired pop to swaggering Stones-y country ballads and further into Rumors-era Fleetwood Mac territory, the twelve Usher/Burns joint compositions rest on a folk foundation of organic musicianship. Burns’ unique voice, a soulful blend of Ronnie Spector and Stevie Nicks, provides a perfect counter to Usher’s soft, smooth vocals. Beneath the surface, however, a bleak darkness hides in the lyrics with tales of alienation, depression and stark reflection, the succinct thoughts of one faced with mortal uncertainty in the wake of chronic pain. - Big Takeover Pure shimmering pop from these two long-time fixtures in New York shines brightly on these twelve songs that deal with some very serious themes. Lyrically penned by George Usher at a time when he was battling cancer and unable to play any instruments, the music was skilfully composed by Lisa Burns and fits everything together perfectly. Their voices blend equally well and everything about this album is right, considering what went behind its creation. Add to the fact that the production is top notch (by Usher and Burns) and mixed by the masterful Eric “Roscoe” Ambel and you have pure beauty. --Pop Dose Contributing musicians across its 12 tracks include Captain Kirk Douglas (The Roots) on lead guitar, Sal Maida (Cracker, Sparks, Roxy Music) on bass and Dave Schramm (The Schramms) on lead guitar. The album was mixed by Eric Ambel (Del-Lords, Roscoe s Gang). The songs on TLDoW bristle and shiver with an honesty of expression...amid the occasional fallen tear and stolid defiance, some pure damned fun to be had...Stereo Embers