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The Woody Crushburn

Coming Around

Written by: HES on 15/10/2014 13:31:40

The Woody Crushburn recently had the questionable honour of supporting Neil Young and Crazy Horse. It was questionable because the gig is almost impossible to get right and as writer BV remarks in his review, the band was then both troubled by reverb and an uninterested crowd. Although this may have felt like a massive let down for the young band, it did assure The Woody Crushburn a reasonable amount of spotlight and with the release of this, their very first EP, the band may get the praise they actually do deserve. The single of the EP “Housebroken” already made good promises when it was released in the summer and luckily for The Woody Crushburn, these promises were kept.

Initially the eccentric vocals of Niels Godt honestly rubbed me the wrong way. There’s something about country references in folk music that can rub me the wrong way when it becomes too gimmicky. But the almost yodeling characteristics of Godt’s higher bars open up after a couple of listens, when you notice how characteristically it has been used and thus it becomes more of a feature than a downfall, adding naïvity and vulnerability to an otherwise confident soundscape. This for me is crucial whenever any new artist emerges within this part of the folk/country genre. Albeit a horribly misused word, the authenticity of the vocals in anything country is not a nice-to-have, but a need-to-have in a lyrical environment so focused on the narrative of the lyrics. The fact that Godt’s voice is kept boyish and young also differentiates the band from their bassy, rough peers - this takes an otherwise very traditional composition-style to another level.

Another star of the record is Ravnur Huginsson Eide on his lap steel guitar. It is an absolute bliss to hear this underused instrument in an updated sound universe. The high pitch of Eide lies melancholically on top of a warm, steady, upbeat pulse of drums and rhythm guitar, momentarily supported by another voluminous guest in the form of an extremely well-played lead guitar by Rasmus Kürstein. Apart from these elements, the songs are surprisingly well-composed and in a quality that makes smaller imperfections manageable to overlook. I do prefer the more upbeat songs like “How” or “Where It Went Wrong”. On the latter track Godt’s eccentric voice sends me vibes like the equally eccentric Luke Pritchard of The Kooks could send me back in the 00’s, just in a country manifestation. I am entertained by the slower “Up On The Hill”, but it doesn’t come as close to the finish line as the remaining songs. However, that doesn’t change the fact that “Coming Around” is a convincingly well-crafted EP from a debuting band.

Download: How, Where It Went Wrong, Housebroken
For The Fans Of: The Byrds, Poco, Dave Mason
Listen: facebook.com

Release date 15.10.2014
Self-released