Woods: Sun and Shade

A review of Woods newest album, Sun and Shade.

June 08, 2011

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Woods makes music you stumble upon. They released a handful of limited run cassettes and seven-inch vinyl before catching ears with Songs of Shame in 2009. Their output since has been nothing but incredible. Last year's At Echo Lake was certainly the best 30 minutes of music I heard.

Woods newest, Sun and Shade, will instantly own you with "Who Do I Think I Am?", a serious pop song covered in clanky percussion and bite-sized guitars. Songs like "Pushing Onlys" and "What Faces the Street" hint at jangly West Coast '60s rock, while the lengthier tracks ("Out of the Eye" and "Sol y Sombra") stretch into Krautrock ideals and experiment beyond the embraced homage to three-minute fuzzy guitar pop. The momentum is a tad tripped up when "Sol y Sombra" and "Out of the Eye" flex out their Eastern mantra qualities, but Sun and Shade has enough warmth and breeze to be a highly valuable summer listen as you set up camp and lose your cool with those inevitable swarming bugs.

Woods may come across as too laid back or dare I say a "jam band," but this four piece is nailing down some fantastic stuff in the process and tripping into them might be the best discovery you make all year.

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