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Amy Aileen Wood is, apparently, a dummer. She
has worked with Fiona Apple, a pop singer who
i have heard of more than i have heard. By
that i mean -- i know that she has been making
music for a while, but i could not tell you
what Fiona Apple sounds like. Heck, her music
could be playing near me and i probably
wouldn't know...
So Ms. Wood drums with Ms. Apple and also
produced Apple's 2020 record. This seems to be
her first solo record. I don't often include
quotes from press releases in my postings, but
this quote about the start of this album is
hilarious:
“My motivation was entirely fear
based,” Wood explains, “I think my first
question for Pete was, ‘are you sure?’ But
it’s always good to get out of your comfort
zone. And ultimately it was equal parts
uncomfortable and rewarding.”
The Pete mentioned above is Pete Min, who
owns a recording studio and a record label,
Colorfield Records. He apparently had to
convince Wood to make this record, and i am
glad that he did. Whatever type of music that
Wood makes (made? is she still in Apple's
band?), what she does here is light pop with
hint of jazz over it.
Wait, is Fiona Apple a jazz artist? I always
thought she did girlish pop with an acoustic
guitar...
At any rate, this album is a drummer cutting
loose on her own, with the help of a handful
of collaborators (including Fiona Apple), and
creating an album that seems playful, jazzy,
and slightly ambient. This is agood record to
put on and listen to while working or doing
something -- it doesn't demand a lot fo
attention but it rewards what attention is
paid to it.
The record starts with an electo drum
chugging and a voice singing worldlessly, as
keys meander in Rolling Stops. This is
a fun little tune that wanders for about
before settling down with a sax bit and
wordless vocals.
The next three tunes kind of blend together.
They are Hiccups then Number Zero
then Bangs and all three feature
really interesting (yet not dense) drumming,
what sounds like an upright bass, and some
light accompanying sax and/or keyboards. It's
a simple formula, and what makes the songs
enjoyable is the interesting percussion. On
these three tunes Wood shows us that she
really understands rhythms.
After those three tunes she branches out
with The Valley, a two minute tune of
mostly piano. My least favorite song on the
record is next. It's called Time For
Everything and it is dominated by
samples of a woman (or maybe women plural)
laughing. Sometimes it sounds forced and
sometimes disdainful, but it dominates the
rhythms and the Tortoisey
keyboard bit. The laughing gets to be a bit
much for me after a while.
But after that mis-step Wood gives us the
song that stand out the best to me. This one
is called Midnight Zone, and the
rhythms roll wonderfully on this song.
Sometimes the drumming almost sounds like
thunder in the distance, which is an awesome
effect, and really needs to be heard. Wood
pairs this with staccato piano, and the song
just grooves along in a happy, fun manner.
On Slow Light she adds in an aahing
voice, and at times it sounds like actual
singing (perhaps that's Wood's voice?) and at
times it almost sounds like a sample triggered
by something. Perhaps it is her voice twisted
and manipulated. Anyway, the overall song is
pretty cool, with all of the sounds twisted
and warped and clicking and fuzzed over with
computer manipulation.
On My Shadow there is a deep,
vibrating keyboard bit and clattering
percussion that combine to remind me of the
sound track to a 1950s horror / sci-fi film:
this is the music that plays as The Monster
(who might be a Space Alien or a Robot, but i
suppose only the shadow of it is seen) stalks
towards our hapless protagonist(s). Later a
sax comes in and gets a little skronky, which
works with the spookiness of the drumming and
keyboards.
And finally we end with The Learning
Problem which., like Slow Light
seems to be highly computer manipualted. It
almost like Wood is channeling Autechre here,
but in a way that is more "fun with computers"
than "electronically destroyed sound"...
Overall i enjoy this record. Wood makes
interesting tunes.
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