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Woods Afire:
And Still There Is No Sign
The first thing that I noticed as I spun Woods Afires new album was that theres an interesting dichotomy at work here. Theres this difference between tracks that seems a little too obvious theres a noticeable schism separating one half of the album from the other. Im not quite criticizing this yet; Im merely stating the facts as theyre presented to me. The strangely incongruous tracks are all interspersed and worked throughout the album, creating somewhat of a jarring difference a haplessly woven, strictly two-color quilt. Is this good or bad? Am I thrown off or drawn in? As the album meanders forward, I found myself gravitating more towards some of the tracks, but a bit put to pasture by the others. This is what initially peaked my interest: all of a sudden, something jumps out of place and throws me off. Full chord Indigo Girl-inspired guitar strum and harmonies stand at the forefront and out of nowhere a picked, wonderfully drifting Duke Ellington-influenced funeral dirge swells up and swoons on. The faster strummed pieces have Closer to Fine-like vocal harmonies with heavily strummed, sometimes banjo/horn-backed parts, with a warm, old-time country feel to them. The lyrics are pretty solid, if a little lacking in vision and tired but there. The other pieces are a lot slower, picked and lusher. Subtle horns support the frame, just haunting the background, while the feeling is a bit more repressed and reclusive. Where the initial tracks hold their fair ground, and are a bit more derivative, these later tracks bring a bit more interest into the album, tying the rest of the album together. These slower tracks feel more earnest and thought-out, and are less produced and big. There are obviously two creative minds at work here, and Im afraid its pretty apparent that theyre not fully working together. An interesting juxtaposition is at play in this album, as the two styles are so far removed that it feels more like a split than a single bands album. This actually leaves me confused and searching for the joining bond. Theyre both good at their respective styles, but as an album theyve run in completely opposite directions. Who knows? Is the fire imagery deeper than we thought? The slower, picked pieces are drawn out and sparsely beautiful while the faster, strummed pieces are more heavy, conscience-laden and too full. I think Im drawn to one side and pushed away from the other actually. Solidity is out the window.
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