Woodsist Records: 5 Must-Hear Albums

I first heard of the freak-folk band Woods about four years ago. My sister saw them play at a coffee shop at Fordham University and sent me their cover of Graham Nash's "Military Madness." After listening to a few of their records, I started digging deeper and found that frontman Jeremy Earl ran his own record label which, until recently, was operated out of his Brooklyn apartment. Everything about Woodsist Records-- from their lo-fi recordings to their hand-drawn aesthetic-- has a homemade and authentic feel. While the nebulous genre of "indie rock" becomes increasingly sanitized and Starbucksified, the Woodsist label consistently puts out interesting and innovative records that are refreshingly original.

Below is a list of records I love that were put out by Woodsist.

1. Woods - Songs of Shame

With their melancholy melodies, singer Jeremy Earl's Neil Young-esque vocals, and underlying, undulating ambient noise, Woods' distorted psych-folk is both enchanting and haunting. While many former Woodsist affiliates have since ascended to indie-rock stardom, it is refreshing to see Woods staying close to their DIY roots. Woods continues to put out records on the Woodsist lebel and often play unconventional venues. (I recently saw them play a tiny free show at Brandeis University full of gawky undergrads.) This album, 2009's Songs of Shame, remains one of my favorites, and this song, "Rain On," is still heart-wrenching three years after I first heard it.

2. Kurt Vile - Constant Hitmaker

Originally released on Gulcher in 2008, Kurt Vile's debut album Constant Hitmaker was reissued on vinyl by Woodsist. While he plays with a full band of long-haired Vile clones these days, this album features a solo KV on guitar backed by a drum machine. Despite the lo-fi fuzz on this album, he proves he's got the song-writing chops to be an auteur of American folk rock.

3. White Fence - Is Growing Faith

White Fence's tinny upbeat psych-pop is infectious. Their influences from yesteryear are plentiful, ranging from the Beatles to the Kinks to Syd Barrett, and they balance strong melodies with experimentalism as well as the Olivia Tremor Control. (How meta have we become that a modern-day band can be reminiscent of a band from the 90s that was reminiscent of bands from the 60s?)

4. The Art Museums - Rough Frame

This San Francisco-based duo injects some California blood into Woodsist's predominantly East Coast-based catalog. The Art Museums combine ethereal harmonies with rudimentary instrumentation: Casio beats, cheap synths, rattling guitars. I love the crudeness of this album.

5. Real Estate - Real Estate

I've already gushed about Real Estate at length in this blog, so I'll keep this brief. Their self-titled debut album, released on Woodsist in 2009, is less polished than their follow-up Days, but that's not necessarily a bad thing: the lo-fi fuzz enshrouds their music in a subtle haze that accentuates their dreamy sound. While Real Estate signed with Domino for Days, the band still pals around with the dudes of Woods. A Woods show I attended in Brooklyn last fall was flanked by Real Estate members: Alex Bleeker and the Freaks (the side project of Real Estate's bassist) were the openers, and Matt Mondanile joined Woods on drums

Jersey Boys Wax Nostalgic: Real Esate

Jersey-bred hazy rockers Real Estate began jamming together in middle school. They formed the band the summer after graduating from college while they were all living at home in Ridgewood, NJ. The collective experience of growing up in the suburbs is integral to their sound, which is evocative of carefree summer nights. You can also hear the influence of their Garden State predecessors-- the layered guitars and repetitive riffs of the Feelies and the textured, atmospheric soundscapes of Yo La Tengo.

Since releasing their first album in 2009, Real Estate has risen to prominence fairly quickly. For their most recent album, 2011's Days, the band left the hyper-indie Woodsist label to sign with Domino Records (the label of Animal Collective, the Kills, and (smog)). While I liked Days immediately after hearing it late last year, the record has grown richer with repeated listens. It includes a few sunny, radio-friendly tracks ("Easy" and "It's Real"), but the meat of the album is tinged with a nostalgia that is both contemplative and melancholic. Listen to two of my favorite tracks, the lilting, dream-like "Green Aisles" and the wistful "Out of Tune" below.

The overall mood of Days is more transcendent than summer nights in the suburbs. These songs evoke the universal feeling of remembering a time that was simple and beautiful. Martin Courtney's sweeping vocals are ingeniously layered under the guitar-- an occasional word or phrase will burst through with clarity but most of the lyrics are lost in the jangle -- thus mimicking the imprecise, elusive shape of a cherished memory.

I've always been interested in bands that began with childhood friendships. D. Boon and Mike Wyatt of the Minutemen met when they were 13 and together pioneered the genre of alternative rock. J. Mascis and Lou Barlow began playing together in high school-- a tumultuous friendship, yes-- but there's no denying that Dinosaur Jr. put out their best stuff while Lou was still in the band. Likewise, the seamless sound of Real Estate is the product of friends who are deeply in tune with one another, both musically and personally. And despite all of their nostalgia, these guys are still young.

Real Estate plays this Friday, 8/10 at the Paradise.