Woods — „Strange to Explain [More Strange]“(July 23, 2021) •• Stylistický královský gambit Calexico~New Mornig Jacket? Ne, to Brooklynský band jako jeden z nich vybalil na třináctém albu svoji psychedelickou fašírku pro ještě širší paletu nálad. Pořád to však není uvolněný letní tábor. Undergroundový psychedelický folkrock, který střídá mezi pastoračním zpěvem a mimozemskou podivností. Woods, psychedelicko~písničkářské partnerství Jeremy Earla a Jarvise Taveniereho, vydalo 23. července prostřednictvím Woodsist Records More Strange, luxusní edici jejich vysoce uznávaného alba 2020 Strange To Explain. Vydání pouze pro digitální vysílání obsahuje pět bonusových skladeb, které byly zaznamenány během původních relací Strange To Explain v panoramatickém domě Stinson Beach v severní Kalifornii. Bonusové skladby zahrnují dva nové singly („Waiting Around For A New Me“ a „Nickels and Dimes“), dva outtakes („Daylight Push“ a „Sun Jammer“) a alternativní verze alba „Be There Still“.“ V této době skupina sdílí první z nových singlů „Waiting Around For A New Me“ prostřednictvím hudebního videa natočeného Ianem McNaughtonem. Formed: 2005 in Brooklyn, NY Location: Brooklyn, NY, U.S. Styles: Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Rock, Psychedelic Album release: July 23, 2021 Studio: Thump Studios, (Brooklyn, New York) Record Label: Woodsist Duration: 65:50 Tracks: 01. Next To You And The Sea 3:54 02. Where Do You Go When You Dream? 5:52 03. Before They Pass By 2:50 04. Can’t Get Out 5:19 05. Strange To Explain 3:35 06. The Void 2:12 07. Just To Fall Asleep 5:45 08. Fell So Hard 4:02 09. Light Of Day 3:20 10. Be There Still 3:36 11. Weekend Wind 7:17 12. Nickels and Dimes 3:09 13. Waiting Around For A New Me 2:24 14. Daylight Push 3:51 15 Be There Still (Alternate Version) 3:21 16. Sun Jammer 3:33 Credits: • John Andrews Mellotron, Organ, Piano, Vocals, Wurlitzer • Nicole Bonneau Artwork, Layout • Jon Catfish Delorme Pedal Steel • Glenn Donaldson Vocals • Jeremy Earl Artwork, Casio, Drums, Guitar, Layout, Mellotron, Percussion, Producer, Vocals • Sierra Earl Percussion • Kyle Forester Mellotron, Melodica, Organ • Cole Kamen~Green Trumpet • Kevin Morby Vocals • Aaron Neveu Bass, Drums, Guitar, Percussion • Timothy Stollenwerk Mastering • Jarvis Taveniere Bass, Casio, Engineer, Guitar, Mixing, Producer AllMusic Review by Fred Thomas.Score: ★★★★½ ¬∇¬ A lot happened in the three years between Woods’ 2017 album Love Is Love and their 2020 follow~up Strange to Explain. Core members Jeremy Earl and Jarvis Taveniere worked closely with David Berman on his Purple Mountains album, the last music Berman would make before his death just weeks after the album’s release. In addition, Earl became a father and Taveniere left the East Coast for the West, putting substantial distance between himself and his bandmates. Their 11th proper studio album, Strange to Explain, reflects all of this life in progress, standing as the most restrained, thoughtful, and varied record in a massive discography already well~stocked with thoughtful songwriting and wildly varied arrangement choices. Somewhere around 2016’s City Sun Eater in the River of Light, the band shook up their long~running psychedelic indie folk approach by flirting with touches of Ethiopian jazz and expanding their instrumentation to include horns. These expansions of the band’s sound come into their own on Strange to Explain, fitting the songwriting more naturally than ever before. The slightly Ethiopian~flavored groove that album~opener “Next to You and the Sea” coasts along on feels less heavy~handed than some of Woods’ earlier genre experiments. The song is pushed more by Earl’s distinctive falsetto vocals and the eerie, floating songwriting he’s always delivered than by any stylistic choices. This is also true of the brief instrumental “The Void,” a dreamy but somewhat creepy wash of vibraphone, blurry guitar leads, and keys. By the time the horns arrive on the seven~minute “Weekend Wind,” the band is already entrenched in the kind of Crazy Horse~modeled groove they perfected on 2012’s Bend Beyond. Much of Strange to Explain isn’t about Woods breaking new ground, but perfecting the strengths they’ve spent years developing. Driven by warbly synth melodies and clean rhythms, “Where Do You Go When You Dream?” is one of their strongest songs to date. It patiently moves from slinky verses into a chorus built on wistful acoustic guitar chords and the kind of dreamy melodies Earl excels at. “Before They Pass By” expands on familiar pastoral indie folk foundations, adding subtle Mellotron lines and layered percussion overdubs. It’s not just a matter of amped~up production taking the album to a new level, especially considering Woods have long graduated from their crusty lo~fi beginnings by this point. Instead, Strange to Explain sounds like the result of carefully considered choices in songwriting and production. Without losing the unfiltered emotion that makes them so compelling, Woods reach a new maturity with these songs. Fifteen years into a tirelessly curious evolution, the band sound more comfortable and surefooted here than ever before.
Discography: ♦ 2007 At Rear House Shrimper ♦ 2007 How to Survive In/In the Woods Release the Bats / Shrimper ♦ 2009 Songs of Shame Shrimper ♦ 2010 At Echo Lake Woodsist ♦ 2011 Sun and Shade Woodsist ♦ 2012 Amps for Christ/Woods Shrimper ♦ 2012 Bend Beyond Woodsist ♦ 2014 With Light and With Love Woodsist ♦ 2016 City Sun Eater in the River of Light Woodsist ♦ 2017 Love Is Love Woodsist ♦ 2018 Myths 003 Mexican Summer ♦ 2020 Strange to Explain Woodsist Records ♦ 2021 „Strange to Explain [More Strange]“ Woodsist Records WEB: https://www.woodsist.com/woods/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/woodsfamilyband TW: https://twitter.com/WOODSIST INSTA: https://www.instagram.com/woodsist/ BC: https://woodsfamilyband.bandcamp.com/album/strange-to-explain-more-strange-deluxe-edition
•• Stylistický královský gambit Calexico~New Mornig Jacket? Ne, to Brooklynský band jako jeden z nich vybalil na třináctém albu svoji psychedelickou fašírku pro ještě širší paletu nálad. Pořád to však není uvolněný letní tábor. Undergroundový psychedelický folkrock, který střídá mezi pastoračním zpěvem a mimozemskou podivností. Woods, psychedelicko~písničkářské partnerství Jeremy Earla a Jarvise Taveniereho, vydalo 23. července prostřednictvím Woodsist Records More Strange, luxusní edici jejich vysoce uznávaného alba 2020 Strange To Explain. Vydání pouze pro digitální vysílání obsahuje pět bonusových skladeb, které byly zaznamenány během původních relací Strange To Explain v panoramatickém domě Stinson Beach v severní Kalifornii. Bonusové skladby zahrnují dva nové singly („Waiting Around For A New Me“ a „Nickels and Dimes“), dva outtakes („Daylight Push“ a „Sun Jammer“) a alternativní verze alba „Be There Still“.“ V této době skupina sdílí první z nových singlů „Waiting Around For A New Me“ prostřednictvím hudebního videa natočeného Ianem McNaughtonem.
Formed: 2005 in Brooklyn, NY
Location: Brooklyn, NY, U.S.
Styles: Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Rock, Psychedelic
Album release: July 23, 2021
Studio: Thump Studios, (Brooklyn, New York)
Record Label: Woodsist
Duration: 65:50
Tracks:
01. Next To You And The Sea 3:54
02. Where Do You Go When You Dream? 5:52
03. Before They Pass By 2:50
04. Can’t Get Out 5:19
05. Strange To Explain 3:35
06. The Void 2:12
07. Just To Fall Asleep 5:45
08. Fell So Hard 4:02
09. Light Of Day 3:20
10. Be There Still 3:36
11. Weekend Wind 7:17
12. Nickels and Dimes 3:09
13. Waiting Around For A New Me 2:24
14. Daylight Push 3:51
15 Be There Still (Alternate Version) 3:21
16. Sun Jammer 3:33
Credits:
• John Andrews Mellotron, Organ, Piano, Vocals, Wurlitzer
• Nicole Bonneau Artwork, Layout
• Jon Catfish Delorme Pedal Steel
• Glenn Donaldson Vocals
• Jeremy Earl Artwork, Casio, Drums, Guitar, Layout, Mellotron, Percussion, Producer, Vocals
• Sierra Earl Percussion
• Kyle Forester Mellotron, Melodica, Organ
• Cole Kamen~Green Trumpet
• Kevin Morby Vocals
• Aaron Neveu Bass, Drums, Guitar, Percussion
• Timothy Stollenwerk Mastering
• Jarvis Taveniere Bass, Casio, Engineer, Guitar, Mixing, Producer
AllMusic Review by Fred Thomas. Score: ★★★★½
¬∇¬ A lot happened in the three years between Woods’ 2017 album Love Is Love and their 2020 follow~up Strange to Explain. Core members Jeremy Earl and Jarvis Taveniere worked closely with David Berman on his Purple Mountains album, the last music Berman would make before his death just weeks after the album’s release. In addition, Earl became a father and Taveniere left the East Coast for the West, putting substantial distance between himself and his bandmates. Their 11th proper studio album, Strange to Explain, reflects all of this life in progress, standing as the most restrained, thoughtful, and varied record in a massive discography already well~stocked with thoughtful songwriting and wildly varied arrangement choices. Somewhere around 2016’s City Sun Eater in the River of Light, the band shook up their long~running psychedelic indie folk approach by flirting with touches of Ethiopian jazz and expanding their instrumentation to include horns. These expansions of the band’s sound come into their own on Strange to Explain, fitting the songwriting more naturally than ever before. The slightly Ethiopian~flavored groove that album~opener “Next to You and the Sea” coasts along on feels less heavy~handed than some of Woods’ earlier genre experiments. The song is pushed more by Earl’s distinctive falsetto vocals and the eerie, floating songwriting he’s always delivered than by any stylistic choices. This is also true of the brief instrumental “The Void,” a dreamy but somewhat creepy wash of vibraphone, blurry guitar leads, and keys. By the time the horns arrive on the seven~minute “Weekend Wind,” the band is already entrenched in the kind of Crazy Horse~modeled groove they perfected on 2012’s Bend Beyond. Much of Strange to Explain isn’t about Woods breaking new ground, but perfecting the strengths they’ve spent years developing. Driven by warbly synth melodies and clean rhythms, “Where Do You Go When You Dream?” is one of their strongest songs to date. It patiently moves from slinky verses into a chorus built on wistful acoustic guitar chords and the kind of dreamy melodies Earl excels at. “Before They Pass By” expands on familiar pastoral indie folk foundations, adding subtle Mellotron lines and layered percussion overdubs. It’s not just a matter of amped~up production taking the album to a new level, especially considering Woods have long graduated from their crusty lo~fi beginnings by this point. Instead, Strange to Explain sounds like the result of carefully considered choices in songwriting and production. Without losing the unfiltered emotion that makes them so compelling, Woods reach a new maturity with these songs. Fifteen years into a tirelessly curious evolution, the band sound more comfortable and surefooted here than ever before.
Discography:
♦ 2007 At Rear House Shrimper
♦ 2007 How to Survive In/In the Woods Release the Bats / Shrimper
♦ 2009 Songs of Shame Shrimper
♦ 2010 At Echo Lake Woodsist
♦ 2011 Sun and Shade Woodsist
♦ 2012 Amps for Christ/Woods Shrimper
♦ 2012 Bend Beyond Woodsist
♦ 2014 With Light and With Love Woodsist
♦ 2016 City Sun Eater in the River of Light Woodsist
♦ 2017 Love Is Love Woodsist
♦ 2018 Myths 003 Mexican Summer
♦ 2020 Strange to Explain Woodsist Records
♦ 2021 „Strange to Explain [More Strange]“ Woodsist Records
WEB: https://www.woodsist.com/woods/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/woodsfamilyband
TW: https://twitter.com/WOODSIST
INSTA: https://www.instagram.com/woodsist/
BC: https://woodsfamilyband.bandcamp.com/album/strange-to-explain-more-strange-deluxe-edition