Woods – City Sun Eater in the River of Light

Woods have released a new album. For those of you unfamiliar with side project of Meneguar’s Jeremy Earl, the Brooklyn based band formed in 2005 and have so far produced nine albums fit for the public’s consumption. Meneguar disbanded in 2010, giving Earl more time to focus on founding his independent record label ‘Woodsist’. This undoubtedly gives the founder and lead singer much more creative space in terms of producing a specific sound than it possibly would be if Woods had signed to a larger label. Alongside this, the other artists on ‘Woodsist’ are pushing their own sounds too. The likes of Ducktails, Kurt Vile, Real Estate and Wavves are all on Earl’s label. The influence of which may have encouraged Earl to avoid Meneguar’s focus on a more youthful, 2010-esque energetic indie-rock sound, and ensure Woods’ sound follows a psychedelic and almost folk-like direction.

As soon as I began listening to City Sun Eater in the River of Light, I immediately realised there was a sense of familiarity with this band and the sound emanating from my laptop, despite the fact I hadn’t listened to them before. You sit there, listening to this album which has a structure so similar to that of Lou Reed, Foxygen and possibly even Unknown Mortal Orchestra; yet at the same time it’s completely different. This is a very clever skill. It is this that protects Woods’ new album from being merely a dreary album where each song is nothing more than terrible background music played in restaurants or lifts. Earl’s intelligence in terms of song writing is clearly in how he creates a sense of paranoia yet happiness and pleasure at the same time. In this respect, I agree with Dan Lucas of ‘Drowned in Sound’ who praises the band for “not ensconcing their songs in a generic, lazy wall of sound”.

I truly recommend this album for fans of the likes of Mac DeMarco and Connan Mockasin all the way to fans of James Blake, Flamingods and even Fat White Family. Whilst Woods can be seen as a band full of technical ability, this isn’t inimical to the sound they generate. The overall simplistic nature of this album, released in April, and how easy it is to listen too should be heralded. As should the actual production of the album itself. The songs fit a certain sound together yet explore different dimensions, which is reminiscent of Bowie and Tony Visconti.