The Woods: So Long Before Now – US – ocean blue LP [2023]

1. Miracles Tonight
2. Never Before
3. Any Second
4. Far Away
5. The Real Miss Charlotte
6. Two By Two
7. So Long Before Now
8. Gorgeous Weather
9. Love Me Again This Summer

I have to marvel at the thorough deep dive that the Sundazed/Modern Harmonic has been doing into the NYC underground of the 80s of late. The latest fruits of their curation appear tomorrow on ocean blue vinyl and the silver disc for the obscure art combo The Woods. I’d not heard of the band as their single indie 7″ flew too far under my Central Florida radar in 1985. That 45 is accounted for here along with the other recordings the band made as budget allowed for the album that was never to be…until now.

The single, “Miracles Tonight” drew a line in the sand right away with the tight folk harmonies of the three singers unadorned by instrumentation for the first pre-chorus. Then jangling guitars and morotik drumbeats that were inspired from the Velvet Underground playbook cast their winsome spell on the ear. Fans of the third Velvet Underground album will find much to appreciate here. The same ear for beautiful melody that the VU were showing in 1969, but the mixture of voices from Brian Bendlin [drums, guitar], Linda Smith [guitar], and Steven Cheslik-DeMayer [guitar, cello] was richer even as it clung ephemerally to the wispy music like an evanescent morning dew.

The cello of Cheslik-DeMayer combine with the slide guitar of guest Susan Brewster to affect a ringing evocation of sitar-led psychedelia on the drone-pop of “Never Before,” from the pen of Ms. Smith. I’d swear that the band were laying the groundwork for future bands of the next generation such as The Sundays on “Any Second.”

It’s to our detriment that these masters have sat on a reel of tape for 38 years, because “The Real Miss Charlotte” suggested that there was another band who was able to hear Siouxsie + the Banshees’ “A Kiss In The Dreamhouse,” and move forward with its acoustic psychedelic footprint to combine cello, guitars, delicate harmonies and tambourine to equally delightful effect. The delicacy of Linda Smith’s vocals would insure that they would hit a very different target from The Banshees, of course.

I also loved the crystalline delicacy of drummer Bendlin’s “Two By Two” which posited a scenario where pairs of people of every gender could enjoy their time together with no heavy overhead. The vocal harmonies were straight out of The Association’s playbook, but never with such poignant gender deconstruction as we have here.

The full-bodied title track managed to get up a head of steam with the band having the kind dignified Chamber Pop force as Echo + The Bunnymen managed on their “Ocean Rain” album. The acoustic guitars and cello provided a resilient force for the multi-tracked voices to bounce off of in the chaotic verse structure. Then the chorus featured those yearning diminished chords to really serve up the perfect cocktail of melancholy and joy. With the a cappella coda finally coming down on the side of joy.

The concluding “Love Me Again This Summer” played like “Heroin” without the tempo shifts that mirrored a drug rush as it also was built on a motorik strumming that began sparse and as it progressed through its 5:45 length, grew in complexity as the cello and vocal harmonies joined in to make the song expand to fill the listener’s horizon. Its Sunshine Pop harmonies managing to unite the aesthetic of the first and fourth Velvet Underground album as the wave of sound peaked at the five minute mark and continued to move outward until there was no more.

The LP was another pressing from my local pressing plant at Citizen Vinyl and I’m happy that they are making a good name for records made in Asheville. This was another LP that sounded great with noise at low to absent levels. The songs from the single that bookended the album were mastered from a 7″ and you can hear the difference with headphones as compared to the rest of the master tape material.

The LP came with great liner notes in the form of a fanzine for that mid-80s vibe. The notes revealed that the band barely played live because they found it unappealing. It spoke volumes that no one in the band felt comfortable taking the reins onstage so they agreed to not play live and direct their energies at recording instead. The sessions that made up this album were made as budget allowed and by the time that the material was down on tape, the band simply evaporated.

I can remember other bands of the mid-80s pitched as “the next Velvet Underground.” Does anyone remember Human Switchboard? But where Human Switchboard were trying hard to hit that target, none of The Woods would dare to try singing like Lou Reed, even as they were still interested in the VU’s jangle and drone ethos. The fact that the band was comprised of half women and half men, also gave the results a different spin as the songs were written by three of the four members; giving the songs a wide palette of moods. The player above will populate on release day with all of the song for your perusal. The LP is $26.98 with the silver disc being $16.98. The latter featured four bonus tracks as well, but since I got served with the LP for promo you’ll have to taste the samples on the Sundazed web store, so DJ hit that button.

CD + 4 BONUS TRACKS

OCEAN BLUE TRANSPARENT LP

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