Over these 43 minutes of blissed out forest folk also finds itself knee-deep in organic drones. Wood's high-pitched voice is the focal point which the music swirls around, and these songs emanate from the cosmos like a cathartic release from the sky. But don't be fooled, despite these cosmic aspirations this is music straight from the earth, covered in bark and soaked in soil.
- Digitalis Recordings
Keith Wood concocts massive emotional releases in his head and transfers them to tape using the most organic means possible. Bowed dulcimer, singing bowl, banjo, and a his trademark falsetto dot the horizon of this majestic album. This graceful and subdued music has been extracted from the earth and laden with golden spirits.
- Digitalis Recordings
I’m no expert on his discog (it’s fairly broad and deep and hard to keep track of), but this strikes me as a bit more varied and electric than some of his stuff I’ve heard (like the “Under Bent Limbs” 2xCD for example). The first song, “Poppi On My Mind,” intertwines fingerpicking daydreams with really eloquent amplifier gestures, sweeping melodic feedback, and subconscious pulsing sub-beats…near the end everything coheres into a beautifully focused war of hypnotic tension and elemental desperation. One of the most powerful Hush Arbors pieces I’ve heard. The B side tracks don’t let up on the intensity much either…”Rowed On Home” devolves from an acoustic reverie into a blown-out sludge-noise dirge that sprawls on for surprisingly long. And the tape closer, “Ripped Raw,” unfurls a poppy electric guitar melody against melancholy moaning and some tonal emoting that totally tugs at the heartstrings in a blissed, bummer soundtrack sort of way. A near-flawless tape by one of the post-folk realm’s most visionary gatekeepers.
- Cassette Gods
Sorry, couldn't find a review, only this:
"This is a live solo outing from Keith Wood recorded in October 2006 in Sheffield, UK."
released mid-june, 2006, as one of the installments in the modern containment series. landscape of bone is the new album by hush arbors AKA keith wood - age unknown, no fixed address - and is a major leap forward for a dude who's probably best known so far for his auxiliary membership in such bands as six organs of admittance, sunburned hand of the man, and wooden wand and the vanishing voice. but wood's solo work may challenge what you might expect from a man with friends in such high, low and in between places. his perfectly moniker-ed band name may rightfully suggest tunes that often sound like a peaceful sort of secret, but with landscape of bone, the secret is about to get out in a big way. sweet and delicate songs featuring wood's unmistakable voice - equal parts neil young and al wilson - and adept fingerpicking occasionally give way to monstrous 'where-the-f***-did-that-come-from' moments of visceral psychedelic damage. just as comfortable wringing deadly screaming leads from his guitar as he is coaxing gentle modern day country hymns to catatonia from it, wood is, first and foremost, a songwriter in the traditional sense. his songs will feel right at home during nights of quiet debauchery, as well as during those shame-filled mo(u)rnings after. landscape of bone is the latest and greatest from an increasingly vital artist who is sure to continue defying expectations and carving out a well-deserved place among the psych folk elite as long as he chooses to run.
- Three Lobed
One-man folk/psych/drone ensemble Hush Arbors AKA Keith Wood was unquestionably my favorite sonic discovery of 2004, so it’s with great pleasure that I announce the arrival of Cleaning the Bone, a brand new 3” CD-R on the Finnish 267 Lattajjaa imprint. It’s quite different from his two most recent Digitalis releases since this highly organic, folk-tinged drone affair is allowed to spread out over a little more than twenty minutes. But despite the fact that we get music rather than songs this time out, it’s still very much gentle free folk bristling with rare invention and spirit. The beautiful improvisations hold the regenerative powers of the Appalachians; somehow hosting the energy that has been hiding under logs and rocks for decades just waiting for the right man to come along and pick it up.
This strangely beautiful document takes as much from the rich history of American folk as it does from ancient drones and psychedelic primitivism. But most of all it’s an unhurried and slowly unfolding wave of folk/drone bliss that evoke a pastoral atmosphere so strong that it’s perfectly suited for inner mind expansion or as the cheapest way to transport you to the most beautiful parts of the Appalachians.
- Mats Gustafsson
