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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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Wreck Room
By Ken Shimamoto
My, my. Where’d the time go? Has it really been five years since Woodeye released its last c.d., Two for Flinching? You betchum.
It’s been so long since these guys saw the inside of a studio that most of their contemporaries (like Brasco and Bindle) have folded the tent or gone on to other things. Long enough for tags like “roots-rock” or “alt-country” to have become albatrosses and for bassist Graham Richardson to ditch his trademark straw Stetson. But the good news is that Carey Wolff remains a highly distinctive and individuated songwriter — so much so that the biggest love Brasco got at its penultimate show was when the band broke out a Woodeye cover. On the new shiny silver disc, Such Sweet Sorrow, Wolff and his crew have come up with some of their rockin’-est and most heart-wrenching tracks yet.
From the taut, tense opening notes of “Mr. Goodenough” — with drummer Kenny Smith bashing and thumping in precise Big Rock style — it’s plain to see the Woodeye boys have hardly been resting on their laurels (or asses) since last time. Wolff still sounds as if he’s been gargling with lye (when he sings “I’m a man who’s been going to hell for years,” on “Stupid Man,” you believe him). The songs, however, are among the best he’s penned, especially “The Fray,” “How to Lose,” “Motel Room,” and “Our Song.” Overall, the band sounds tighter and tougher than ever. As always, guitarist Scott Davis uses his arsenal of axes to decorate the songs perfectly. The addition of keyboards to the basic lineup on several tracks gives the sound new depth and dimension.
Catch Woodeye before Carey does a Kevin Aldridge and smashes his axe into a million pieces — or decides to go off and front a Radiohead cover band. An added bonus: Buy the c.d. at the show and you get in free.
Sat at the Wreck Room, 3208 W 7th St, FW. 817-348-8303.
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