Thursday, Feb. 25th 2010

Ravenna Woods

By Fobbs

If you were in a cult and you wanted a soundtrack for your seaside bonfire and kool-aid party, I would recommend you hire Ravenna Woods. Only don’t pay them in punch, we are going to want them around for a while.

The most notable element of this band’s recent release “Lakes and Demons” is rhythm. Everything revolves around the rhythm. I immediately recall the Dodos’s use of all things percussive. Singer/guitarist Chris Cunningham’s guitar work is also noteworthy; his playing is equal parts rhythm and melody, if not more of the former. The guitartistry invokes the thought of a Jose Gonzalez LP spinning at 45 rpm. This record is ambitious, full of thought and craftsmanship that deliberately toes the line of lo-fi/overproduction. The backup vocals ubiquitously flow in and out of audibility, and for me, it’s working. This record has energy. The more I listen, the more impressed I become that this is only three people. It’s like the organic brand of Menomena. It’s an album that can be enjoyed in full, although “People in High Places” and “Ghosts” are garnering the most plays. They make the most of their sonic canvas (via healthy doses of xylophone) and I really hope they can translate this live…

I arrived at Chop Suey to find that these twat-bots left me off the list… no matter, I’m absolutely willing to support this band and I’m curious to see the trio in a live setting. Am I a sucker for a crazy looking dude jumping around, pounding on some floor toms? The answer is yes, I am, and they have one of those. I’m also a sucker for a guitarist that plays without a pick. They have one of those too. Most of the vocals are done in two-part harmony and are drenched in delay. The third song they played, “Devil’s Coming,” made it apparent that these two gentlemen have been singing together for sometime. There is a lot of “whoa”ing. So if you’re someone who likes lot of “whoa”s, to you I give the green light. As for me, the ambition heard on the record was being delivered. I liked it, a lot. After the show, my verdict was this: the folly of creating a record you can’t replicate live does not claim this band.

The first night I spent in Seattle I went to see a friend-of-a-friend’s band… some local upstart that was part of a bill that was drawing about 30-40 folks on a Friday at Chop Suey. At one point during the show the guitar amp quit and the singer did an acoustic song while the problem was being resolved. It was a song called “Icicle Tusk.” Since I was new to the city, and so as not to appear naïve, I wanted to disguise how impressed I was with this guy. “Is everyone this good?” I wondered. I probably offered my buddy some insightful bit of critical analysis such as “fuckin good, man,” but secretly I was thinking to myself, “These guys are not going to be playing to this small an audience for very long.” And they didn’t. I got a similar feeling at the Ravenna Woods show. File under “Band to Watch” and hope they stay together.

For fans of: The Dodos, Bon Iver, Yeasayer, Sea Wolf