Woods- Sun and Shade

On its latest release, Woods make their sound a little sunnier with brighter guitar leads and attitudes. But some of the songs here just feel too unfinished to really feel memorable or exciting for me. I dig this band a lot, but I almost feel like I've fallen off the wagon on this one. Their past several records, in my opinion, have been fantastic. This feels like it lives in the shadow of Woods' previous material because of its underwhelming execution, half-baked songs, and melodies that are eerily similar to that of past material from this band.

Plus, what's possibly the most enjoyable track here is a cover song.

I'm not on board with this album, sadly, but these guys seem to drop something new about every year. Maybe I'll like the next release more.

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Woods- "Any Other Day"

"I’d love to change the world, but I don’t know what to do. So I’ll leave it up to you."

That was the band 10 Years After circa 1971, and 30 years later, Brooklyn's Woods are changing things with their latest LP, Sun And Shade. It'll be out via Woodsist this month along with the cut “Any Other Day.”

The song is a unique and compelling jangle-folk sound that mixes "California Dreamin'" with the hard rock influences from a time of war. The song's never-ending mantra convinces itself that that things can't possibly get worse.

It's a song that asks, "Where is sanity?" One can only stop, look up into the sky and find the answer. It’s a call for a day of hope and a promise of a brighter future that would put a smile on the face of Mama Cass.