With Light And With Love

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As Jeremy Earl has added members to his once-solo project Woods, they've more than lived up to the hype (such as <i>Pitchfork</i>’s "Best New Music" claim for 2009’s <i>Songs of Shame</i>). Woods have become a surprisingly prolific group—and one that's slowly embraced higher-fidelity productions. Earl sings in an eerie high pitch that lands somewhere between Neil Young and Prince. The playing on the title track may suggest a trip through the psychedelic rock of the ‘60s and the ragged stoner jams of the ‘70s, yet there’s also a dense, modern tone to what's also a current-day raga <i>and</i> pop song. Driving the keyboards to distortion while letting the drummer loose happens even on the more modest songs. “Shepherd” settles on country-rock. “Moving to the Left” trips back to <i>Magical Mystery Tour</i>–era Beatles. A mellow early-'70s tune like “New Light” is warped by its extreme production tone. “Full Moon” could be a lost track by the ‘70s band America. “Only the Lonely” (not the Roy Orbison song) sneaks in the album’s strongest melody just before the finish.

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

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