Delicate and calm music is a must for everyone. No matter how hard, grim, bitter, or brutal a person you are, you will come out of it, some way, somehow - even if for a few moments in time. Be it age, occasional spots of relaxation from your otherwise ‘heavy’ listenings, or simply a tired mind from a hard day’s work, we all share and feel a need to delve into the beautiful and serene to help us cope. Hell, speaking of which, even despair and a faltering, unstable life can lead one to peaceful music. And though there are many bands with many records with many songs out there, all can be appreciated for their sense of creativity and sure footedness; for one cannot say that any album of this type of intimacy and harmony doesn’t try hard.
Wood And Wires’ self titled is such an album. Sewing breathtaking magnificence of two guitars, a lamenting violinist, the divine, rich sounds of keyboards, and the intricate subtlety of the drum set, this post rock band has transcended many other acts in terms of glowing, haunting splendor. Yet soft features are only half the part. Songs like Vega and Canes Venatici show us perfection in beauty, whilst straying farther from ordinary, quiet pacing and pitch with outstanding dynamics; all in volume, instrumentation, and functionality, reaching almost to the point of angst with overdriven guitar sounds, while still kept in check with the rest of the album’s tender radiance and symmetry. Layering these aspects can seem gluttonous and overwhelming, and sometimes it is. But what Wood And Wires do to counter these afflictions is surrounding them with a powerful aura of hope and charisma, producing a mixed feeling of being childishly giddy and pacifically thoughtful at the same time. Such content should be punishable, but this band has a tendency to make you want to indulge in everyway from their music.
Yet what the album has in whole, complete themes and values, it loses in individuality. While I am in no way implying that Wood And Wires are lacking in creativity or uniqueness, it seems that the band emphasizes more upon having the album being listened to as a whole every single time, without reinforcing the infrastructure as much. Although quite understandable and reasonable, you will feel that they could’ve soared even higher if they put more, ah, ‘finishing touches’ and detail within the songs themselves.
But I shall affirm you that everyone should at least take one listen of this piece. After all, even if you don’t care for it all that much (which is highly unlikely, in my opinion), you can secretly admit to appreciate the small moments that make your heart melt, will move you till the end. Because with an album this intimate and this affinitive, Wood And Wires have certainly, clearly, given it their best.
