For most people, their relationship with Woods began last year (I know mine did) with the fantastic Songs of Shame. They should be happy to know that even if they decided to call it a career after that release, the song “Rain On” would be on mixtapes and soundtracks for years to come. It is that good. But, the fact is that Woods have four albums under their belts, a record label (Woodsist) on which they distribute them, and a fifth release coming out on May 11th.

At Echo Lake will attempt to capture the power and energy of the Woods live show (which is surprisingly great considering they come across as low-fi folk-jam on record) while continuing to experiment with instrumentation and style. But the band wants you to know, it is all reallyabout the vocals. Jeremy Earl’s voice is haunting and beautiful, so this revelation should come as a surprise to no one. It is also easy to make the album “all about the vocals” when the singer owns the record label. In other news, LCD Soundsystem is all about James Murphy.

Jokes aside, Woods may come across as a modest band who are more likely to open a show than headline one, but don’t be surprised if At Echo Lake turns out to be something special. This mp3 from the release sure seems to indicate that. Also, they will tour with lablemates Real Estate with a stop at South by Southwest on the agenda.

“I Was Gone”

Woods 2010 Tour Dates:
03/12 - New York, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg ^#
03/13 – Montreal, QC @ Lambi ^
03/14 - Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern ^
03/15 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall ^
03/16 – Lawrence, KS @ Jackpot Music Hall ^
03/19 – Austin, TX @ SXSW Other Music Lawn Party @ French Legation Museum
03/19 – Austin, TX @ SXSW Cheer Up Charlie’s AKA Ms. Bea’s
03/20 – Austin, TX @ SXSW Woodsist Showcase @ Red 7
03/22 – Nashville, TN @ The End ^
03/23 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop ^
03/24 – Cleveland, OH @ The Spot at Case Western ^
03/25 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Univ. of Pittsburgh ^
03/26 – Haverford, PA @ Haverford College ^
03/27 – Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel ^
03/28 – Durham, NC @ Duke Coffehouse ^
05/13 – New York, NY @ Abrons Art Center / Joshua Light Festival *

^ = w/ Real Estate
# = w/ Happy Birthday and Wild Nothing
* = w/ MV + EE