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Ear to the Ground: Woods’ “Tambourine Light”

With its chiming, 12-string Rickenbacker leads and boyish vocal harmonies, this is anything but a nod to Dylan.

“Tambourine Light,” the first previewed song from Woods’ eighth studio album, With Light and with Love, features more of the band’s signature chiming electric 12-strings—but don’t think for a second that it’s some kind of indie-pop nod to “Mr. Tambourine Man.”

If you’re at all familiar with the Brooklyn (by way of Warwick), New York, quartet’s discography, what stands out most with this new Woods song is how far the band has come since their early, lo-fi indie-folk apartment recordings. The first thing you notice is the warm, crisp fidelity—it sounds like they’re hitting 2" tape. And if you’re wearing some decent headphones (ditch the free white spaghetti wires already!), you’re in for a hard-panned treat.

There’s a rich, nicely tremolo’d electric guitar tone that softly undulates in the left can while the timeless-sounding 12-string leads dance around in the right can, ringing with the regal resonance of George Harrison’s Rickenbacker and Vox AC30. Add in the driving yet unobtrusive rhythm section, as well as Jeremy Earl’s androgynous vocal harmonies layered thick like lasagna, and everything about “Tambourine Light” is easy on the ears like a sonic brain massage. woodsist.com/woods