Winchester 7 Shares His 'Postcards' and some background

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Indie rock alchemist Winchester 7 drops a vibrant new chapter with his 2025 EP Postcards. Following the eclectic charm of their 2020 album Argos Holiday, praised by Indie Band Guru for its “beautiful wall of sound,” this five-track EP distills their signature blend of electric ukulele-driven rock, psychedelic flourishes, and road-trip-ready storytelling into a compact, addictive package. Postcards is a love letter to fleeting moments and far-off places.

The EP kicks off with “Just A Crush,” a banger that sets the tone with Winchester’s energetic ukulele riff slicing through a haze of sound and a steady driving beat. His vocals, dripping with a laid-back swagger, weave a tale of aimless adventure that feels like cruising down a desert highway at dusk. The track’s fuzzy guitar layers and bassline create a psychedelic haze that’s both nostalgic and fresh. It’s an instant in your face sound that grabs you and doesn’t let go.

The slowed down “Still Waters” still has the energy but the pace lats the track wash over the listener with even more emotion. Winchester 7 has a knack for bringing up emotions without sounding too sappy. “Holiday” highlights this even more with a soundscape that welcomes everyone inside. The closer “You Again” is a little peppier and even more exotic. Vocals are delivered with a pop sensibility demanding the listener to focus on what is being said, both in words and between the lines. A female vocal duet pushes this even further. Top track.

Coming in at just about 16 minutes, the EP is lean but potent, every song bursting with personality. The psych influences blend well with the band’s raw rock roots. This diversity is a strength, keeping the EP dynamic and replayable.

We caught up with Winchester 7 to let us even deeper into his world. Enjoy the interview here:

First off, how did the name Winchester 7 come to be?

Hey, Keith, thanks for having me!

Well, It’s a family name and I happen to be the seventh, but I think the first of us to pick up a ukulele – electric, at least.

How would you describe your sound?

Oh, I’m terrible at that! I started calling it indie ukulele rock as I think that sums it up, anyway. I’m very indie, I play a ukulele, and I like to rock!

That aside, I really love to try new things when I’m writing a song. For example, in my head Just a Crush the lead track off the record written with my daughter, actually; is a Taylor Swift song. I think that’s where she drew her original inspiration from, anyway. I may be the only one who hears it like that though.

In fact, I purposely tried to lean into a more indie pop sound on this one, but I’m told that it’s still a bit far from it. Can’t blame one for trying though…I suppose it’s just how I play.

Which bands have had the biggest influence on Winchester 7?

I always say, first and foremost The Beatles though, Paul McCartney specifically including his vast catalog of solo work. He’s a real inspiration to me in that he keeps reinventing himself and exploring different sounds.

Beyond that, I have varied influences such as The Ramones, The Pixies, The Black Keys…and newer stuff like Yard Act, The Wallows; and Coach Party, of course.

What pushed you to stay with the ukulele focus instead of switching to the more mainstream guitar sound?

I don’t know how to play the guitar! In the end, once electrified as I often do, my uke is frequently mistaken for a guitar. But, I think the fact that it’s a ukulele gives it a different tone. Hopefully that helps it stand out a little as there’s an awful lot of guitarists out there, isn’t there?

Share some insight into your new Postcards solo album.

I did an interview a while back while promoting my band, Winchester 7 & the Runner’s last release The Waking Giant, where I mentioned something about wanting to do some more experimental writing that could prove to be a solo album.

Now, I really felt that would be no surprise to my bandmates as I’d mentioned it before. But, clearly, they felt that it was more of a passing thing.

So, perhaps in not one of our best moments but as bands often do, we had it out a little. The thing is that we’re all living abroad from one another these days with Jack over in the UK and Phil in and about Amsterdam, so we did it over video conferencing…and a few late night voicemails.

Anyway, that was somehow leaked by a hacking collective and we all ended up looking pretty bad.

But, you know, we’ve been together through difficult times before and I really thought the solo album was an innocent enough of an idea. It never meant to bring about the end of the band! It was always supposed to be just a side project, really.

So, we came to an agreement that I’d be responsible for the songs and their creative direction, Phil would simply play bass – and I think he quite enjoyed that low-key kind of role this time out; and Jack switched to the producer’s chair.

I really wanted some different beats on the record to help separate it from my work with the Runners too though…and have an affinity for all things British. So, I went out looking for a brit drummer and found Coach Party’s Guy Page, who just so happens to be an excellent mix engineer!

From there, we were off and running for lack of a better term, coming up with a slices-of-life kind of a record that I hope resonates with the fans.

How does a song come together for you? What is the songwriting process?

Well, it almost always starts with an arrangement that I’ve come up with. From there, a phrase or, sometimes, a title comes to mind.

Now, when I’m working with the band, that’s usually the point where I bring it in to workshop and we collaboratively take it from there to finish it off. Jack is particularly good at working out choruses.

But, on this one to keep things very much a solo record, I wanted to break away from that model and write them in whole. I stuck to what typically works for me in starting with an arrangement. From there, I do a lot of humming, whistling, and vocalizations before arriving at a coherent set of lyrics.

What I think is particularly interesting though is that during the recording process, my performance tends to organically change up what’s on the page to something that feels more suitable in the moment – small tweaks, but substantive stuff that just seems to happen all on its own. It’s like a little bit of magic.

What do you want the listener to take away from your music?

A strong desire to listen more and to tell their friends? I don’t know, I mean music, art, it’s so subjective!

I set out with an intent for each song, what it means to me. But, I often write in a way that allows for listeners to derive their own meaning, which sort of happens anyway, I think.

I do hope that some of the songs from this album offer a bit of hope for listeners though. We’re in some tough times, I was when writing and am now while promoting even; but, there’s more than a fair share of tough times all over, about now.

Hope. I hope they take away hope.

Give us a look at the future for Winchester 7.

The future’s uncertain, isn’t it? I know the band and I have talked about recording a covers album. During the Postcards sessions we all ended up getting together over the holidays and recording a Decembrists cover.

I also think I’d like to do another solo album. Maybe, build up enough tracks to try hitting the road even. But, in the meantime, I’ll be working on more video content for our YouTube channel, writing, and promotion.

With any luck, I’ll be back around this time next year with something new to share!