Labels: art for blind – Bombed Out Records
Review by: MH
This record has been some time coming. Wooderson come from Sheffield and previously put out a few tracks here and there on demos, splits and EPs over the past few years but this is the band’s first full length. I have to say that it was worth the wait as this is another of my favourite albums from this year. It’s a very self-assured record and one that has grown on me considerably since the few listens. I liked it initially but it’s one of those records that I seem to get more out of on repeated listening. They have a post hardcore sound with an influence that can be traced back to a number of old DC and Dischord bands and in particular Fugazi. The vocals have something similar going on – the verse on “Too Many Questions” is very Fugazi-esque and the song teeters menacingly on the edge of explosion throughout. I also get a Hoover vibe from some of that teetering on some of the songs. There is way more to this band than just ploughing an old sound though. They have developed their own sound and brought it up to the here and now. “Let The Man Speak” is tight yet energetic and punchy when it wants to be. Listen to the way the guitars really drive things on in “Janet Bruce” and the way in which the angular riffs across the album push the songs on. The vocals are recognisably English too and the three voices keep it varied. Sonic Youth and …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead also spring to mind at times while I’m listening particularly with the guitar sound and waves of riffs coming and going throughout. “Mint Condition” might just shade it as my favourite song but I also love the riffs on “Buffalo Jumps” which follows that track and the aforementioned “Janet Bruce” is a belter. The underlying urgency in the title track makes for a strong finish too. The contrasting vocals work brilliantly on this one and the lyrics are dark. If any of the aforementioned bands are your thing then you should really check this album out. More recent comparisons are hard to pinpoint as they are really doing their own thing in 2012.