Woods expands their prism

By Jake Saunder

For listeners looking for a more delicate sound, the band Woods provides a more subdued shine.

Theindie-folkgroupproducesmusic of various textures, with each album varying in complexity. Their seventh album, “With Light and With Love,” released Tuesday.

Their second album, entitled “Songs of Shame,” was met with critical acclaim, as was 2010’s “At Echo Lake.” Though the albums were described as

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somber, each was a success. The group’s compositions now offer a lighter and more hopeful tone.

For “Light,” this brighter take is present throughout the production. There’s balance — for each upbeat and lighthearted melody comes a falsetto of breathy eeriness in the vocal arrangements.

This variance ultimately defines the band. Each composition wrestles with both sides of light and dark. The album is shrouded with these themes, like that of the sun and moon, which positively marks

the song as the Woods’ territory. The effort here is reminiscent of past melodies, likened to artists from the ‘60s and ‘70s, with slight notes of

psychedelic rock.

The album does dance with

experimental sound, something that may turn some listeners off. At the same time, it might not be so bad to give a different genre of music a try.

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Woods may be one of the lesser- known bands to produce such a sound as their freak-folk genre suggests, yet they remain a fresh outlet for this type of music, marking “Light” a success.

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