Peppered with instrumentals, the new record from Woods is a low-key affair. Perennial, out Friday via Woodsist, finds these players in command of ruminative numbers. The music here doesn't ask too much of a listener, but there's some degree of charm to the stuff still.
"Between the Past" pulls from solo Lennon, while the bright "Another Side" interjects some much-needed twang-y energy into the proceedings here. Elsewhere, the lilting "Sip of Happiness" sounded a bit like Coldplay and Beulah to these ears, no mean feat, while "Double Dream" unwinds along a nicely undulating guitar-figure. None of these compositions is going to push the envelope too much, but I sort of liked my time spent wtih them.
Jeremey Early and John Andrews and crew let this stuff amble around, the melodies sort of dropping out without a lot of effort. There's nothing earth-shaking on Perennial, but the tunes provide pleasure, and there's a certain warmth that sets this apart from other bands' stuff these days. While the vocals are not too strenuous, I'd love to have heard a whole album like the title song, one of a couple of really lovely instrumentals here.
Perennial by Woods is out on Woodsist on Friday.
[Photo: John Andrews / Woods]