Greetings fellow retroanauts. Are you ready to swing your flares to the unashamedly back in time sounds of Wooden Fields? Do you believe every t-shirt you wear should be both “tied” and “dyed”? If the answer is “yes”, well grab your loon pants, rub some patchouli oil into your denim, partake of your own personal favourite relaxant and strap in for a trip to an age where whatever device you are reading this humble reviewer’s scribblings on was something found only in the pages of science fiction.
It may be 2021 according to the paper calendar pinned to my wall, and indeed that is backed up by the clock on the computer on which I am currently typing, but according to ‘Wooden Fields’ and every chord they play, it cannot be any later than about 1973. Album opener ‘Read The Signs’ just screams of the stripped back white boy blues of days of yore, bereft of any pretence, and just challenging the listener to get their freakout on. Follow up ‘Shiver and Shake’ reinforces that ethic, unashamedly ignoring any trendy sound of the last forty years, this power trio plying their trade in the same way that originals like Cream did, and indeed more modern pretenders such as Firebird comparatively recently.
‘Should We Care’ is so much more mellow, like Vintage Caravan in their recent musings, and this hippy number fits the bill to a tee. By the time ‘I’m Home’ shimmies forth from the speakers, the kaftan clad swinging beats of late Sixties UK rock has been firmly established, the occasionally laissez-faire vocals paying a homage to Jack Bruce the clean delivery interspersed with occasional howling histrionics. Indeed, if I were not aware how young and new this band was, I would have assumed it was yet another 70’s ‘could have been’ bands whose demo tape had been dug out of a long sealed vault, before being refreshed and renewed for release by virtue of a combination of modern licensing and remastering.
‘Don’t Be A Fool’ just honey-drips with a soft rock vibe when that term was not an insult, whilst in contrast ‘Wind of Hope’ is a romping and stomping blues blast. The fact that the album mellows into the gentle meanderings of ‘Endless Time’ is a testament to the confidence of the band, delivering a cocksure swagger that any stadium filling act would be proud to have. Not a single track on ‘Wooden Fields’ is a misfire, and come the last track the band go full on “Led Zep” as they meld gentle vocal pleading that interplays with instrumental bombast, presented with a skill and communication between the three band members that would normally only be expected from an act that had been together for many years, rather than a band that is releasing their first album.
For quite some time Blues Pills and Kadavar have been at the crest of the wave of bands that have looked to the heady days of Joplin and Hendrix for inspiration, and to that ever expanding scene you can happily add Wooden Fields. So to paraphrase Timothy Leary, turn on, tune in, and rock out.
(8/10 Spenny)
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