Perennial

Woods have been in a state of slow but steady evolution since forming in 2004, growing from their roots as a noisy and experimental lo-fi folk project into increasingly refined and ambitious, genre-bending sounds as the years went on. Perennial finds the group expanding once more, turning in some of their most ornate production while maintaining their signature earthen songwriting style. With core Woods contributors Jeremy Earl, Jarvis Taveniere, and John Andrews no longer near each other, the writing process for Perennial began with Earl creating loops of keyboard, guitar, and drum figures on his own. These loops became the foundations of the album, with Taveniere and Andrews fleshing them out and taking them in new directions. The loopy starting points lend a dreamy consistency to Perennial. The album kicks off with beachy instrumental "The Seed," a roving number that drifts back and forth between two chords but decorates this simple skeleton with warbly surf guitar leads, flickering organ, and little hints of ethereal piano and horns. About halfway through the arrangement opens up, branching off in a left turn with some of the Afrobeat percussion and dub echoes that underscored the bands 2016 album City Sun Eater in the River of Light. This lush orchestration continues throughout the rest of the album, with Beatles-y Mellotron pulses and a big, friendly drum sound pushing along the lazy melodies of "Between the Past" and the playful synths dancing with autoharp strums on the otherwise mostly acoustic "Little Black Flowers." The bands Crazy Horse-modeled psychedelia flares up on tracks like the burning "Another Side," though even here, the arrangement is dense with a lot more sonic detailing than anything theyve attempted before. "The Wind Again" (one of Perennials four fully instrumental tracks) is another coastal dreamscape, with lovely pedal steel from Connor Gallaher melting into vibraphone plinks and otherworldly siren wails that are one-part Stereolab, one-part Martin Denny-style exotica. Each track takes a slightly different direction, from the driving and ominous indie blast of "Weep" to the waltzy off-time loop of the title track that finds the album stumbling joyously to its close. Perennial is yet another step forward for Woods, a band that continues to get stronger as their music becomes gentler and more graceful. ~ Fred Thomas