a r t i s t : Woods
t i t l e : At Echo Lake
d a t e : 2010
l a b e l : Woodsist
g e n r e : Psychedelic
r l s. d a t e : May/2010
t r a c k s : 11
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 43,0 MB
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The distance between 2007's At Rear House and 2010's At Echo
Lake may at first seem only semantic, but it more properly
represents a move from a kind of informal back porch jam ethos
to a fully-committed vision of the infinite possibilities of
group playing. Over the past few years, Woods has established
themselves as an anomaly in a world of freaks. They were an
odd proposition even in the outrΘ company of vocalist /
guitarist / label owner Jeremy Earl's Woodsist roster,
perpetually out of time, committed to songsmanship in an age
of noise, drone and improvisation, to extended soloing,
oblique instrumentals and the usurping use of tapes and F/X in
an age of dead-end singer-songwriters. Recent live shows have
seen them best confuse the two, playing beautifully
constructed songs torn apart by fuzztone jams and odd
electronics. 'At Echo Lake' feels like a diamond-sharp
distillation of the turbulent power of their live shows, in
much the same way that The Grateful DeadÆs ôDark Starö single
amplified and engulfed the planetary aspect of their
improvised takes. Some of the material hereùthe opening ôBlood
Dries Darker,ö the euphoric "Mornin' Time" is so lush that
lesser brains wouldÆve succumbed to the appeal of strings and
horns, but At Echo Lake is more Fifth Dimension than Notorious
Byrd Brothers, nowhere more so than on "From the Horn,ö a
track as beautiful in its assault on form as ôEight Miles
Highö or Swell MapsÆ ôMidget Submarines.ö But despite the
instrumental innovation the album heraldsùG. Lucas CranesÆ
psychedelic tape work on ôSuffering Season,ö guest musician
Matthew ValentineÆs harmonica and modified banjo / sitar on
ôTime Fading LinesöùAt Echo Lake is all about the vocals.
WoodsÆ secret weapon is the quality of EarlÆs voice, absorbing
the na∩ve style of Jad Fair, Jonathan Richman and Neil Young
while rethinking it as a discipline and a tradition. Here he
is singing at the peak of his powers, in a high soulful style
bolstered by heavenly arrangements of backing vocals.
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01-Blood Dries Darker [04:29]
02-Pick Up [02:28]
03-Suffering Season [03:07]
04-Time Fading Lines [03:40]
05-From The Horn [02:05]
06-Death Rattles [03:24]
07-Mornin' Time [01:53]
08-I Was Gone [01:54]
09-Get Back [02:06]
10-Deep [02:00]
11-Til The Sun Rips [02:24]
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29:30 min