Taken from the Australian band's second album, Winning Days is a soft rock song with an instant hook and a catchy melody but fails to leave any resonance. The sickeningly bitter-sweet tune flows with ease but it's a distinctly run-of-the-mill track.
After several listens there's a depressive feeling despite its chirpy title and mellow Eagles-style strumming, and vocalist Craig Nicholls even sounds as drab as Radiohead's Thom Yorke. The guitar solo feels like a failed Brian May melody and the backing vocals sound oddly out of place. A barely memorable drum-beat stays with you for the song's duration, but the piano is under-developed and could have pushed its creative swing.
Perhaps internal band divisions and the infamous difficult second album syndrome took its toll. Ultimately, Winning Days leaves you thinking that if Todd Rundgren had produced it, it could have been a winning song.
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