Music Review: The Woodentops, Granular Tales

By Melissa Bratcher

After a 25-year recording hiatus, The Woodentops have reappeared with Granular Tales, a pleasing return to form. The amazing thing? They don’t sound at all like a band that’s not recorded in a quarter of a century. Granular Tales is, for the most part, vital and alive and inventive.

Known for their extensive use of polyrhythms, The Woodentops haven’t abandoned their signature sound. Their uptempo songs are brilliant and vibrant, and there are just enough of those songs to make this easy to recommend. The last quarter of the album, however, submerges itself in dreamy, droney pop that goes a bit tedious.

“A Pact” is exciting and driving, using subtle Latin rhythms and flamenco-like touches, as well as a nice fuzzed out guitar echoing the “la la” chorus. “Conversations” is fresh with loads of different beats—a tango here, a little bossa nova there—and then it erupts into a frenzy you can’t help but dance to. Frontman Rolo McGinty (is it the best name in the business? I think it might be) is in fine voice. “Smokin’” takes polyrhythms and an insistent noirish guitar riff, and tosses them into a blender, making a fascinating melange. The charming “Every Step Of The Way” boasts an understated keyboard and tight drumming from Frank De Freitas.

On “Third Floor Rooftop High,” the anthemic guitar is mixed nearly as loud as the vocals, which makes picking out the lyrics quite difficult. It would probably make a great video, but not a great single. The jittery “Stay Out Of The Light” might make a better single with its kitchen sink percussion and gritty wah wah guitar from Simon Mawby, as well as the rapid fire chorus.

The trio of songs that round out the disc are lackluster. “Take Me Through The Night” starts off promisingly and sparky, but becomes a slow, marginally interesting saga. “What Was Taken Away I Don’t Want Back” sounds like it could have been sung by Jarvis Cocker, and has great drumming, but bogs down in repetitive lyrics. “Because Of You” is the best of the three, with lovely piano and a dramatic torch song quality.

Still, for a band that hasn’t recorded a new album in such a long time, The Woodentops’ Granular Tales sounds original and fresh. When they embrace what they do so well, they sound amazingly bold and entertaining. It’s a welcome return.

Granular Tales was released on February 24 from Cherry Red Records.