microphones in the trees: woods

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

woods

"The distance between 2007's At Rear House and 2010's At Echo Lake may at first seem only semantic, but it more properly represents a move from a kind of informal back porch jam ethos to a fully-committed vision of the infinite possibilities of group playing. Over the past few years, Woods has established themselves as an anomaly in a world of freaks...But despite the instrumental innovation the album heralds guest musician Matthew Valentine's harmonica and modified banjo / sitar on Time Fading Lines, At Echo Lake is all about the vocals. Woods secret weapon is the quality of Jeremy Earl's voice, absorbing the naïve style of Jad Fair, Jonathan Richman and Neil Young while rethinking it as a disciplineand a tradition. Here he is singing at the peak of his powers, in a high soulful style bolstered by heavenly arrangements of backing vocals. At Echo Lake feels like the transmission point for teenage garage from the past to the future. Deformed by contemporary experiments, bolstered by magical traditions, it's the sound of now, right here, At Echo Lake." Dave Keenan
foto: árbore

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