London band The Woodentops, who celebrated their 40th anniversary last year, have just released Fruits of the Deep which is their first album since 2014’s Granular Tales (which was their first album 26 years). Self-released, the album is a little more varied than Granular Tales, mixing the classic Woodentops’ sound — acoustic guitars, clattering rhythms, big choruses, breakneck tempos — with some of their other diversions over the years including dance music, dub reggae and sound experiments. Listen to the album and watch their video for “Ride a Cloud” below.
If you’re unfamiliar with the band, who were Rough Trade labelmates with The Smiths in the ’80s, their 1986 full-length debut Giant is a near-perfect album and a great place to start and one of this writer’s favorite records of that decade. Listen to that below as well.
Fruits of the Deep:
1. Liquid Thinking 04:12
2. Dream On 03:56
3. Ride A Cloud 04:09
4. Too Good Too Stay 04:02
5. Lately 03:18
6. Hotel 03:11
7. Don’t Stop 03:37
8. Saturday Soundcheck 04:01
9. City Wakes 02:27
10. Can’t Stand Still 04:17
11. I Can Take It 04:18
12. Traversing Heartbreak 03:51
13. The Fishermen Leave At Dusk 08:17
14. Bathyscaphe 08:09