Woods’s new album is one of the best of a good lot
Woods has a lot of albums by this point in history. This record is their seventh album in as many years, and among my top three from them. It takes
a lot to
be ranked amongst At Echo Lake and Songs of Shame, but the group certainly brings a new A-game to the studio here. Less drenched in tape-deck experimentation, Bend Beyond nonetheless retains the brilliant freeform jams and songwriting prowess that made the aforementioned recordings so great. This isa more focused album overall, with a definite emphasis on the controlled artifice of crafting a song. Jeremy Earl’s falsetto may turn some away, but if you love it like I do, it’s a no-brainer: play this album.
Think: Sunny folk-pop psych weirdness rock n’roll
REC: 1, 2, 4, 7, 10
FCC: 3!!!
Label: Woodsist
Release Date: Sept. 18
Alex Applegate reviewed this album on Sept. 18, 2012