Seven

Seven is the seventh album, on which Winger naturally re-tied their precision as players to their gift for enormous melody. Released on Frontiers in 2023, it marks Paul Taylor’s return since 1990’s In the Heart of the Young and celebrates the band’s 35th anniversary. With a lineup centered on original members — Kip Winger, Reb Beach, John Roth (who joined in 1992) and Rod Morgenstein — Kip produced it and recorded in Nashville. Complex rhythms and intricate guitar work appear throughout, but a song always sits at the center. From the drive of the lead single “Proud Desperado” to the seven-and-a-half-minute epic “It All Comes Back Around,” the hard songs push with taut momentum, the ballads shade delicately, and the choruses open wide. The weight of low-tuned guitars coexists with progressive play. Critics praised it as a work with grand hooks and sure playing. Leaning on more than 1980s afterimages, it puts forward the structural command honed over a long career — a record where a seasoned ensemble shines.