|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CD
|
|
E#100L
|
"Yankee Reality. What does it mean? Does it portend that there is some unique, other plain of existence for northerners and/or city folk? Something perhaps alien to, well, everybody else? Virginia cum citizen of London/rambling man Keith Wood knows all about it. Several years ago, he relocated to the city of crumpets and tea, where he, among other things, secured a gig playing guitar for notoriously intense death folk legends Current 93. In the midst of all this excitement, he has managed to write and record a brand new Hush Arbors album, his second for Ecstatic Peace!, and it's his finest to date. With a full band in tow -- multi instrumentalist Leon Dufficy, bassist Jason Ajemian, and drummer Ryan Sawyer -- and none other than J Mascis in the producer's chair, Yankee Reality continues Wood's winning streak while introducing an embarrassment of riches in the way of surprises and curveballs along the way. Yankee Reality is a credit to Keith Wood's vast talents as a songwriter and performer, but also, stands as a shining example of his breadth of focus and versatility. How many fools out there love Merle Haggard, The Dead and Dinosaur, Jr equally? I know one." -- James Jackson Toth, Nashville, TN, August 2009
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
E#100H
|
"Keith Wood, along with constant foil Leon Dufficy, is Hush Arbors, and while his self-titled Ecstatic Peace! debut is not his first album by any means -- he's been at this almost ten years -- it does provide the perfect introductory point to Hush Arbor's distinctive take on psych folk. Combining the pensive songwriting of John Phillips circa Wolfking, the plaintive honesty of Neil Young, and the fishtank-gazing cacophony of Six Organs of Admittance (Wood is a frequent collaborator), Wood writes classic-sounding songs that sound readymade for AM radio, circa 1968. These songs would play as comfortably over a scene from The Wonder Years as they would piping from a noxious chillout tent at Terrastock. There are songs here that resonate with the minor key melancholy of Bert Jansch or perhaps even Mark Kozelek, while others hint at a Wire subscriber's Siamese Dream, all propulsive rhythms and lysergic electric guitar. Some albums are 'growers' -- not this one. While repeated listens reveal more and more details, as good albums should, this is also an album that commands immediate attention. Try to put it on in a crowded room - just try. You'll have a High-Fidelity-Beta-Band' scene on your hands within two minutes." "Wood/Hush Arbors is a truly remarkable artist, whose songs, voice and guitar work all create some of the most haunting and powerful music I have ever heard. I don't know what else I can say beyond this: that Keith is one of the last unfound treasures of sound." -- David Tibet/Current 93.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
2CD
|
|
DIGI 037CD
|
"Keith Wood and his Hush Arbors project had a good year in 2006. After multiple solo tours and stints with Wooden Wand & the Vanishing Voice, his first CD and LP were released earlier in the year. He ended the year relocating to England and plying his trade across the pond. With all this in mind, it was decided that a re-release of his first full-length for Digitalis was in order, and thus this expanded version of Under Bent Limb Trees was born. Keith Wood concocts massive emotional releases in his head and transfers them to tape using the most organic means possible. Bowed dulcimer, singing bowl, banjo, and his trademark falsetto dot the horizon of this majestic album. This graceful and subdued music has been extracted from the earth and laden with golden spirits. This two CD set is the perfect embodiment of Wood's delicate take on shy melancholia that has one foot in the forest and one on a log fire, burning with passion. His experience as the go-to guy of not only Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance) but Massachusetts God-botherers Sunburned Hand of the Man for live appearances has clearly set him in good stead for his own recordings, and this collection only serves to magnify his deft talent and unique voice. Disc one features the whole of 'Under Bent Limb Trees,' newly remastered and sounding better than ever. The real prize is in the second disc, which features out-of-print, rare, and unreleased tracks culled from Wood's own collection and various limited and obscure releases."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
DIGI 021CD
|
"Hush Arbors is the brainchild of Keith Wood. After years of self-released and small-run CDRs, Wood's debut release is finally available in a wider format. This release follows a successful tour of the Eastern United States opening for Six Organs of Admittance. Over these 43 minutes of blissed out forest folk also finds itself knee-deep in organic drones. Wood's high-pitched voice is the focal point which the music swirls around, and these songs emanate from the cosmos like a cathartic release from the sky. But don't be fooled, despite these cosmic aspirations this is music straight from the earth, covered in bark and soaked in soil. Hush Arbors is a relic." 'This music is for you who love your perfect clothes caked in mud. This music is for you who could have been scientists but realized that most scientists are thrown into the back of an anonymous van and sold into slavery for their government. And at that point, you said, 'Fuck it. I love the stars and germs and shit, but I'd rather not have a gun to my head'.' - Ben Chasny
|