I was and still am a huge American Analog Set fan so the fact that The Wooden Birds debut album Magnolia doesn’t stray far from that same formula is music to my ears. For those that don’t know, Andrew Kenny is the principle songwriter for both bands. Understated indie rock is the name of the game and Kenny and his counterparts have carved out a nice little niche for themselves through the years. The only difference I can see from AmAnSet to The Wooden Birds is now the view into Kenny’s songwriting is a bit more clearer. While AmAnSet songs had a beautiful tendency to veer off the tracks into a dizzy instrumental haze, The Wooden Birds stay front and center with their arrangements. The more direct instrumentation embraces Kenny’s soft vocals and clever pop songwriting. Leslie Sisson’s harmonies add a feminine touch on top of Kenny’s biting lyrical matters. Of course Kenny is still waxing poetic about all those sad matters of the heart and that suits me just fine. Magnolia is yet another beautiful album by a truly underrated indie songwriter.
Label: Barsuk
I loved the American Analog Set so I am looking forward to checking this out.
Awesome, I never knew Andrew Kenny was doing anything new! I’ll be buying this!
this is lovely! nice one will.