It was five months ago now, that we first learned of Fort Worth native and American Analog Set frontman Andrew Kenny's newest project, The Wooden Birds.
Well, just last week, The Wooden Birds' debut disc, Magnolia, earned its release on the pretty excellent Barsuk Records label. It's a largely subdued disc--no surprise there to folks familiar with AmAnSet's catalog--but a fine one at that, with hints of country and folk (very Neil Young-ish, actually) shimmering above some subtle, barely noticeable ambient electronica influences.
And others seem to dig it, too. The folks at Pitchfork have posted their review of the disc today, rating the disc a respectable 7.1 on its 10-point scale, and saying that the disc bodes well for Kenny's future. Writes review Joshua Klein:
But while the Wooden Birds never quite arrive anywhere special, that's not to say Kenny isn't pointed that general direction. If Magnolia is a disc tinged with innocence and nostalgia, it's tinted by a hint of shadowy dread drawn from someplace more mysterious than Kenny is willing to reveal just yet.A fair, if maybe a little too expectant, review, I'd say.
Unfortunately, though, you wont' see any upcoming DFW dates on The Wooden Birds' upcoming show calendar--at least not yet. And that pretty much sucks. I mean, c'mon, there's even a song called "Hailey" on the disc, so there's an obvious venue for them to be playing, no? Oh well...
