Woods: Bend Beyond

     

     In the past few years, one of the most creative trends to emerge from the indie music scene is the new psychedelic revival.  Due to many factors, both within the music culture and society at large, listeners are gravitating to intelligent rock and folk tinged with layers of psychedelia.  On the forefront of this scene is Woods, a Brooklyn based band who seems to have perfected the art.  The group of workaholics have released seven LPs in the past seven years, as well as a myriad of EPs and single released as well.  Now, they have just released another fascinating album, Bend Beyond.
     Upon first listen, fans will hear a slightly different sound than expected.  After several years of pushing the envelope between pop and psychedelia, Woods have reeled it in.  The songs are shorter, and pursue a more traditional route.   There previous album, Sun and Shade,  saw the band further experimenting with languid jamming and long breakdowns, the songs on Bend Beyond are short and pithy.  Woods has the ability to flawlessly channel California surf pop, and the dreamy sounds of old Los Angeles. 
      While the ethereal textures and layers are still present, Bend Beyond shows a stripped down Woods: an unveiling of a band often masked by effects.  "It ain't easy" surely exemplifies this point the best.  It is a beautifully simple guitar based song unescorted by blankets of sound and noises; a very courageous move by the band.  The simplicity of the album results in a much cheerier sounding record than some previous efforts.
     As the Woods continue to pump out albums, they continue to explore new territory, and new sounds.  For Bend Beyond,  the new territory was tradition. Woods seemingly wanted to prove that they can spend more time cultivating simple beauty out of the songwriting process.  Their aim was to use the songs themselves, rather than the space within them to establish mood, and Bend Beyond does just that.