Live at Third Man Records

Recorded live at Nashville's Third Man Records on a May night in 2016, the long-running folk-psych band Woods make yet another claim to being one of the great bands to follow in the Cosmic American Music tradition. Their albums are a skillful blend of folk rock, country, soul, and indie rock, sometimes tilting toward experimentalism; sometimes sounding like they'd be at home playing a mainstream folk festival. 2016's City Sun Eater in the River of Light added some horns and Afro-funk to the mix and ended up being one of their most rewarding efforts. For their tour that year, they brought along a horn section and they pop up occasionally on Live at Third Man Records, giving the songs from City Sun some nice dimension. Otherwise, the band gets a nice, rich sound on their own with organ, pedal steel, jangling electric guitars, and a rock-solid rhythm section backing the fragile, soaring falsetto of vocalist Jeremy Earl. They play songs from throughout their career, updating a few with horns. "Suffering Season," from 2010's At Echo Lake, is one that benefits from the new treatment. Overall, the crystal-clear recording and the woodsy, richly layered sound the band gets make the set a vital addition to the library of every Woods fan. ~ Tim Sendra