This one kind of snuck up on me. I wasn’t necessarily expecting much – just another band in the low-key folk genre, perhaps?

But initial impressions or assumptions don’t always prove themselves. I’ve listened to The Woods Themselves’ new album (c’mon) do the beach thing many times now, and something about its ramshackle presentation and home-grown character has won me over.

Apparently recorded in various places such as the Kangaroo Valley down below the Southern Highlands and in studios in Sydney, this album seems to manage to straddle the gap between giving the production of the record all the attention and polish that it needs while retaining an organic, down-to-earth atmosphere. It sounds like a real band in a room (with minor studio interference) and has all the cohesion of a continuous set of music, yet if you listen closer it sounds the songs have seen meticulous arrangement applied.

Take the opener “Buy Some Time”, for example: an acoustic guitar hesitantly makes its entrance, before the band enters led by an organ motif. A trumpet responds, fading out as an electric offers its counterpoint. Considering the number of times perfect little moments like this appear, it’s amazing the record doesn’t sound more forced – and even more that it sounds like it could have just happened off the cuff.

The album is one of a slow-burning nature, usually relaxed in pace but occasionally interspersed by more energetic cuts (“Comforted & Questioned”, “Virgin Domestic”) that help give the album some momentum. The tone and texture of the album comes largely from fairly standard components (guitars, bass, piano/organ, scattered horns, percussion) yet it always manages to maintain a unique identity. A few samples, programs or tape manipulations appear from time to time,  but never in a way that seem at odds with the rugged, earthy sound that the band establishes.

In short, this is a band that knows its sound and what they’re trying to do: the sound and atmosphere is fully realised and the songs sound personal and sincere. Just like an album by a low-key folk band should be – and then some.

Listen

• Comforted & Questioned (mp3)
• Groove Wind (mp3)
• Virgin Domestic (mp3)

For some reason the band only offer their more uptempo songs for download, which is a shame as they don’t stand out to me as their greatest moments. But give these a spin anyway, keeping in mind that in my opinion the other 9 tracks on the album are where the real goodness is to be found…