Send "Woodhands " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters |
 Just a few weeks ago, Canadian electro-poppers Woodhands released a “diss” track directed at a certain music webzine that starts with “P” (hint: it’s not PopMatters). I bring this up not because it is of much consequence to me, but because it says a lot about a group that’s still releasing early-aughts electro-pop nearly ten years after anyone cares.The track itself can only be described as “godawful”—the synths sound like early the Faint, the vocals clip like James Murphy’s when they aren’t doing some sort of faux-rap, and the “disses” are best when they’re just entirely false (and worst when they make “Weird Al” Yankovich’s 1999 single “All About the Pentiums” look good). Again, this track isn’t actually featured on the group’s third full-length, Remorsecapade, but it pretty well encapsulates the band: brash, retardataire, and much less funny than they think they are. RIYL 3OH!3, amirite?...full text |
| Herohill |
| When it comes to electronic beats, keytar licks and spasmatic drumming I'm kind of like the Philadelphia Eagles of blogging; even in when the situation deems otherwise, I tend to pass. I'm not really trying to get amped up for the clubs and freaking the funk to the early light these days, so it's no surprise that pedal steel, acoustic and the banjo tend to dominate my listening patterns more than beats. But when it comes to Toronto's Woodhands, they might just be the proselytizers that open up my ears (and my closed mind) to different sounds. Dan Werb and Paul Banwatt have the unique ability to write a love song, one that runs you over with sadness and could uncovered on a dive bar jukebox, but hide the message in frantic shout/screamed vocals, an almost punk rock like anger and drums that never give up. You could dance all night to the Cansecos-inspired hook and vocals of Talk, the Maylee Todd/Dan Werb duet Dissembler or Sluts (especially when the breakdown gives the track a spacey like vibe), but you can also listen to the record in almost any situation. When the duo is operating at top speed, Werb delivers his message with the energy of one of the crazy Kensington Market preachers or a hardcore front man (just listen to I should have gone with my friends) and Banwatt's intricate drums dance around your headphones nicely. It's almost impossible to disregard the bank of synths that fill up the stage when they play, but I've always felt Woodhands was a band that played electro jams, not just another electro act rehashing the overused sounds and repetitive beats. If Remorsecapade can change my mind, I'm sure it can change yours too....full text |
| Cavacool |
| To reiterate a common cliché; the fear with a sophomore release is always the expectations listeners have built-up from the first album. This is especially problematic for the instantly-adored indie sensations, the Bloc Partys and the MSTRKRFTs of the world. For these bands future releases often fall flat just by virtue of the success of the debut. This however is not the case with the second full-length from Toronto-based, dance-rockers Woodhands. The duo’s debut Heart Attack was not an album that garnered much immediate attention from myself or that internet echo-chamber of the blogosphere. It was an under the radar release, mostly known by CBC3 devotees and other passionate followers of Canadian indie. However, as understated as the band’s publicity may have been, their music and their live act was anything but. The pair, comprising of synth and keytarist Dan Werb (a west-coaster and originally the band’s only member) and drummer Paul Banwatt of the Rural Alberta Advantage, began packing small venues in university towns across the country in 2008. The shows were an over the top performance of electro-pop energy. It was as though they knew they had to work twice as hard to relay the same kind of energy as your average four person act. This tactic seemed to pay real dividends however, with the act’s stage presence being accurately described as “super-human.”...full text |
Woodhands lyrics
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