Woodhands Sounds Anything But Regrettable on Latest Release
Remorsecapade offers up layered, if not slightly busy tracks
Woodhands
Remorsecapade
Released on Mar 23, 2010
If there’s one thing I love, it’s music that can be described using the word “dance” at least once. Cue indietronica outfit Woodhands. They’re dance-y! However, that’s rarely enough to make an album memorable. Sure, your legs might hurt the morning after listening to said album, but in some instances it seems like electronic bands pride themselves on sounding mechanical and simple; which makes for good party music, but not music with a solid shelf life.
On their third full-length release Remorsecapade, Woodhands proves that they’re not about to be proud of simplicity. These tracks are evidence of the fact that “catchy” and “intriguing” are not mutually exclusive. The band offers a surprising range of songs, from straight-up club tracks to veritable slow jams, with mostly decent transitions in between.
First promising sign? A lengthy opening track. Well, lengthy for an electronic band. “Pockets” clocks in at just over five minutes, and all of them are awesome. Truth be told, they give up a little too much at the start—this is one of the more layered songs on the album, and might be better suited to the middle of the album. But I like your moxie, Woodhands. After you’re done dancing around to this, be sure to plug in a pair of headphones so that you can hear all the fun little details. Otherwise known as additional beats and synths.
Now, “Talk” sounds like a fitting starter. It verges on abrasive with the jackhammer-esque beats throughout the track, but with the repetitive lyrics and relatively short length—approximately three minutes—this grabs a listener’s in the way that “Pockets” may not be able to due to its duration.
Man, I love “Sluts.” Sure, I wanted an excuse to write that sentence, but it’s such an entertaining song. You’ve got the singer screaming about loose ladies and trust, all against a slightly more industrial and sinister background than the previous songs. Also, there’s a fantastic breakdown that starts around 1:35 that shows how good the band can be when they’re slightly more stripped-down.
After the tone of “Sluts,” “Coolchazine” comes as a bit of a shock. I think I’ve just got to call it too frenetic. Up until this track, they’ve done a remarkable job of riding the line between interesting, complex-sounding tracks and fucked-up busy-ness. But this pushes it over the edge. There are too many things fighting for the listener’s attention, and none of them are all that great. The yelling from “Sluts” turned into a full-out raging scream on this track, and it feels like they’ve pressed one too many effects pedals.
Try to not be scared off just yet though, otherwise you’ll miss the honestly sweet track “I Want To Be Together.” It’s earnest, and quite symphonic. “I want to be together when we close our eyes” is about as darling as lyrics can get in my book. Musically, it sounds like a song that would play in a movie about robots falling in love. Double win.
Remorsecapade would be hailed as a promising and inventive debut, so Woodhands should get even more credit for showing this kind of creativity and excitement the third time around. While some songs could have benefited from a little streamlining, the album as a whole is engaging and entirely memorable.
High Point
I’m going with “Talk.” It takes all of the band’s best qualities and puts them into a nice three-minute package.
Low Point
At times, the vocals get a little too metal for me—see “Coolchazine” and “I Should Have Gone With My Friends” for examples.
Posted by Alyssa Vincent on Feb 23, 2010 @ 7:00 am
