Woody
Whatever
"When I Lost I Left" CDR
Blod
Records
Genres: indie pop, lo-fi
Blod Industries
PO Box 91017
2901 Bayview Ave
Toronto ON
M2K 1H0
Canada
Nov 17 - 23 2003 |
[First
off, Blod
Records is my friend Jim's label - Indieville hosts his site
at www.indieville.com/blod.
But don't expect any bias from me!]
Woody Whatever's I Lost I Left album is Blod's first
non-compilation release, and in true Blod tradition each copy is
uniquely hand-packaged. This time around each
CDR comes in a neat cardboard slot with various stuff glued on to
it. Cool.
Woody Whatever, in case you are not aware, is the band led
by Erik Schmall, an indie pop musician from Dayton, Ohio.
His early CDR, the Roar EP was a big hit here at Indieville,
and this album has been anticipated with baited breath.
When I Lost I Left does not disappoint. Even though it
isn't an ultimately perfect or creative album, it's still one of the most
wonderfully infectious and enjoyable discs to pass through here in a
long while. Schmall's penchant for catchy, memorable
melodies is very obvious here; some of these songs remind me of the
primal brilliance of old Guided By Voices recordings.
There are a few duds on When I Lost I Left. "Long Walks Instead of Alcohol," for
example, is a bizarrely flat pop tune, and "Go Away" is a
bit boring and repetitive. But that's to be expected from a
debut album, and for the most part these songs are very good.
Highlights include the beautifully sorrowful "And Nothing Since
is Clear," bouncy pop number "Tell Everyone," and
terrific finale "Citizens be Warned."
Woody Whatever has created an immensely enjoyable indie pop
album. The music's great, the packaging is superb, and at a mere
three dollars postage paid, you can't go wrong. But act
quickly, as only fifty copies have been made!
86%
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 15 tracks, distributed by the
label, released 2003] |