Woods
With Light And With Love
Woodsist

The fab Woods is back! With Light And With Love is band's sixth album, and the follow up to the exellent Bend Beyond (2012). They're still a psychedelic pop outfit, even though they are leaning more and more into country pop terrain as well. Well, it doesn't hurt.

Last year the band but out the single "Be All Be Easy" (off 2011's Sun and Shade, well, in a reworked way). Opener "Sheperd" starts out in a country-ish stroll, like The Byrds meets Wilco. Woods have often been tagged to the freak folk/psych folk 'movement' alongside artists or acts like Devendra Banhart, Akron/Family, Dirty Projectors, The Skygreen Leopards, The Mountain Goats, The Dodos, and numerous others. Anyway, there's a lot of 60s (as well as a bit of 70s) in the Woods' music. Think: The Byrds, The Kinks, Big Star, and such. Their songs are very catcy and their music is highly addictive. Take "Shining" and "With Light And With Love". Simply irresistible songs. Singer-guitarist, Woods-founder and head-man Jeremy Earl, multi-instrumentalist Jarvis Taveniere, bass-player Kevin Morby, and drummer Aaron Neveu keep on carving brilliant songs from the Woods. Looking for the best Woods album ever. The quest is clear: Don't look back 'till the mission is accomplished. The songs keep rolling and spinning at you: "New Light", "Leaves Like Glass", "Only the Lonely" and "Full Moon"! The latter being an instant classic here at LK HQ! With Light And With Love is Woods' best album so far. A summer's breeze of a record.

This is vibrant pop music lazing and dazing on a sunny afternoon. Hey, Woods! Good to have you back!

Copyright © 2014 Håvard Oppøyen