Willie Schube wrote this via the magic of photosynthesis.
It’s hard for a band to get stronger and stronger yet increasingly underrated at the same time. Woods, the Brooklyn-based (freak/psychedelic/any ol’ adjective) folk band released four great records in four consecutive years before taking 2013 off (although they released a single or two)—probably to contemplate why they’re not one of the bigger bands in indie rock. Having failed to come up with an adequate answer, Woods are back in 2014 with an album due this March, titled With Light and With Love. The band has been moving further away from their freak-folk days of yore, inching closer to something more psychedelic—whatever that word may currently signify.
Regardless, “Be All Be Easy”, With Light and With Love’s first single, furthers the band’s mission of mixing the light and dark, the melancholy and joyous. They enlisted Foxygen member Jonathan Rado for a killer organ riff—maybe a Foxygen feature will convince y’all to take Woods seriously (although if that’s the case, shame on you)—giving the track serious late 60s/early 70s vibes. If “Be All Be Easy” is any indication, the album is going to be as killer as those that came before it. According to the press release (although there’s no good reason to trust press releases), the album has a “heavier emphasis on percussion, and a saloon piano that sounds like it was rescued from a flooded basement.” Adding some percussive bite to their sound can do a lot of good for a band like Woods. Hopefully, they find a larger audience to bite back.
