ROUTES & BRANCHES
featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
September 10, 2023
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
I remember hearing a saying about how we can never step into the same stream twice. My laptop attributes that idea to Heraclitus. I imagine the Greek philosopher never had the privilege of hearing Woods, but he might have made a similar comment about the cross-country collective's eclectic discography. Depending on where you step in their dozen studio records and plentiful singles and EPs, you're as likely to land on roots or folk as you are Ethiopian jazz or a psychedelic jam. Fuzz guitar, horns, loops, and a closetful of percussion. Extended instrumentals or tight, pop-inflected numbers. It's all a variation on the same river.
Jeremy Earl and Jarvis Taveniere are the reliable constant throughout the Woods discography. For Perennial (Woodsist, Sept 17), Earl began with loops of drum, guitar and keys, sounds he shared with Taveniere and cohort John Andrews to flesh out. These sessions are born from grooves, evolving patiently, spiraling and unfolding rather than following a narrative arc. Earl found a natural equivalent to the approach: perennial plants and flowers are nature's loops. Even when sounds are especially manipulated, pushed to the far end of familiarity, there is always something lovingly organic to the music of Woods.
Woods have peppered their records with instrumentals, regarding them as much more than filler. "White Winter Melody" sways like a hipster update of Vince Guaraldi's Charlie Brown soundtrack, replete with melodic bass and peals of Connor Gallaher's eloquent pedal steel. It's as simple and direct a song as you'll find on Perennial, and as satisfying an instrumental as we've heard this year. But this is possibly Woods' most experimental collection to date, and far more typical would be "The Seed", with its warped guitar, Kyle Forester's sax, and a cool breakdown like the sun between clouds. Both pieces find inspiration in jazz and psychedelic pop, and both are imminently listenable.
But the presence of the studio is as heavy on Perennial as it's been on any of the collective's other full-lengths. "Another Side" features Jeremy Earl's trademark vocals, keening from his high register alongside breathy California harmonies. The hazy, Beatles-inflected cut rides on a thick, hazy arrangement, a pulse of programmed flute recalling "Strawberry Field", while the marching drums of the outro reinforce that connection. The six-minute "Another Side" offers heavy fuzz guitar to match its steady drums, rubbery keys distorting our view.
Other tracks allow Woods' indie pop sensibilities to shine, such as "Weep" with its racing drums, melodic choral hook, and chiming guitar. "Double Dream" and "Sip of Happiness" are dreamy, Nuggets-ready cuts, Earl's vocal an additional instrument that sighs into the larger mix. "Sip" adds rhythmic tambourine and treated guitars in a midtempo groove.
With its layer of production and experimentation, Perennial might not be the perfect entry point to the Woods oeuvre - that might be 2016's City Sun Eater in the River of Light or 2020's excellent Strange to Explain. Woods were also recruited to serve alongside David Berman on his final project as Purple Mountains. But even as Earl and Taveniere stretch to explore the further reaches of their sound, Perennial remains another impressive musical gesture with some gorgeously engaging moments. "Day Moving On" delivers some great guitars and keys, while "Little Black Flowers" is a beehive of bright sonic activity, inviting listeners to Wrap your lips around the sun. Like Calexico or Fleet Foxes, Woods is grounded even in their most cosmic moments, familiar and accessible as a flower reaching from the rich soil.
A quick visit to A Routes & Branches Guide to Feeding Your Monster before we move onto this week's teeming Routes-cast. Add Jason Hawk Harris to the list of artists returning to the newly revised Bloodshot roster. His sophomore record, Thin Places, arrives on October 6. On that same date, Dori Freeman returns with her follow-up to '21s Ten Thousand Roses. Produced by her husband Nicholas Falk (Hiss Golden Messenger, Caamp), Do You Recall appears courtesy of the artist's own Blue Hens label. Been more than five years since Ha Ha Tonka shared a new studio LP. Save some room for Blood Red Moon, planned for an October 20 debut. Willy Tea Taylor returns with The Great Western Hangover. His band on the October 27 release, "the Fellership", features members of TK and the Holy Know-Nothings (Black Wing). Finally, Sarah Jarosz promises new things with the release of her next full-length. Polaroid Lovers lands next year, on January 26, thanks to Rounder.
ROUTES-cast September 10, 2023
- Sally Anne Morgan, "Diamond Joe" Carrying (Thrill Jockey, Sep 22)
- Handsome Family, "Two Black Shoes" Hollow (Milk & Scissors, 23)
- Esme Patterson, "Coming Down" Notes From Nowhere (Esme, Oct 10)
- Logan Ledger, "Some Misty Morning (ft Erin Rae)" Golden State (Rounder, 23)
- Jolie Holland, "Highway 72" Haunted Mountain (Cinqfoil, Oct 6)
- Ruston Kelly, "Heaven Made the Darkness" single (Rounder, 23) D
- Dori Freeman, "Do You Recall" Do You Recall (Blue Hens, Oct 6) D
- Lillie Mae, "Safe Place" Festival Eyes (s||c, 23)
- Sarah Jarosz, "Jealous Moon" Polaroid Lovers (Rounder, Jan 26) D
- Cactus Lee, "Caravan" Caravan (Org Music, Oct 20) D
- Jobi Riccio, "Relief" Whiplash (Yep Roc, 23)
- Cruz Contreras, "Stop Giving Your Heart Away" Cosmico (Cosmico, Sep 15)
- Nora Jane Struthers, "Is It Hope" Back to Cast Iron (Blue Pig, Oct 27) D
- Owen Temple, "Days" Rings On a Tree (El Paisano, Sep 26) D
- Ashley McBryde, "Women Ain't Whiskey" Devil I Know (Warner, 23)
- Drayton Farley, "Kudzu Wild" Kudzu Wild EP (Hargrove, 23) D
- Van Plating, "Orange Blossom Child" Orange Blossom Child (Singular, Sep 15)
- Tyler Childers, "Phone Calls and Emails" Rustin' in the Rain (Hickman Holler, 23)
- Nathaniel Rateliff & Night Sweats, "Tight Rope" Song For Leon: Tribute to Leon Russell (Primary Wave, 23)
- Jaime Wyatt, "Love Is a Place" Feel Good (New West, Nov 3)
- Chris Stapleton, "Think I'm In Love With You" Higher (Mercury, Nov 10)
- Allison Russell, "Rag Child" The Returner (Fantasy, 23)
- Low Cut Connie, "Take Me To the Place" Art Dealers (Contender, 23)
- Jerry Joseph, "Loving Kindness" Baby You're the Man Who Would Be King (Cosmo Sex School, Sep 29)
- Angel Olsen, "Greenville" single (something cosmic, 23) D
- Liza Anne, "Shania Twain is Making Me Cry" Utopian (AntiFragile, Nov 3) D
- Slaughter Beach Dog, "Engine" Crying Laughing Waving Smiling (Lame-O, Sep 22)
- Geese, "Jesse" 4D Country EP (Partisan, Oct 13) D
- Sun June, "John Prine" Bad Dream Jaguar (Run For Cover, Oct 20)
^ Woods, "Day Moving On" Perennial (Woodsist, Sep 15)
- Houndmouth, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" Discovered & Covered (Dualtone, Dec 8)
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