Spectreview: Wooky – Things Like This [EP]

-CHARTREUSE-

For a guide to the review color rating system, click here.

Wooky, like many contemporary rock acts, don’t limit themselves to a single style. The band’s been deftly weaving warm psychedelia, dusty alt-country and winding prog into the mix since their founding in 2014, and while their live shows have always proved to be engrossing affairs, their recorded output have yet to match their fervor for the stage. Fortunately we finally have another official release, a three-song EP that does what EPs usually do, documenting a band in transition, trying on new clothes. As usual, the compositions are engaging and structurally sound, and pretty much everything here works. “Here” is a winding river, an elliptical guitar line leading to complex drum rhythms and an anthemic breakdown, while the atmospheric intro of “Atlatl” lands on a bedrock of imperial slow-dance rock that then blossoms into sludge and distortion. The proceedings are diminished slightly by curious production decisions, not least of which is the overall lack of presence in the drums. One can imagine how much more effective the breakdown of “Here” or the sway of “Things like This” would be with an extra punch in the snare, for instance. As a mark of songwriting strength though, Things Like This outlines Wooky’s plans for the future, and should that debut LP ever come out, it promises to be a banger.

Recommended for a new pair of cowboy boots.