Product Description
Whoa Melodic is the brand new solo project from Michael Wood, who usually shares his multi-instrumentalist talents with various bands including Singing Adams/Steven Adams & The French Drops and The Hayman Kupa Band (Darren Hayman / Emma Kupa(Standard Fare/Mammoth Penguins). His very first solo album is a dazzling and unbelievably catchy indie pop delight. With an extraordinary knack to conjure a memorable tune, the lush, layered arrangements were created entirely by himself in his home studio. With an unnatural obsession with Paul McCartney, Wood’s record also has echoes of Teenage Fanclub, Squeeze, World Party and Elliott Smith. Melody is key yet his lyrics tend reflect what is going on in his life. As Michael explains; “Friendship and Time are two other themes that crop up a lot in my music and there’s some of that in these songs, the importance of your friends and the passing of time and how everyone has such busy lives it’s easy to lose that connection. I’ve been guilty of that.” This is evident in “Ring Your Friends”, a particularly poignant “hymn” that closes the album. Michael Wood wrote songs under the name Michaelmas in the early 2000s and shared them in a series of CDRs to friends and people who came to gigs, later putting them all up online via Soundcloud. Some of his most popular tracks were included in a Christmas EP, with the stand-out track being “I Want Snow”.
In 2007 he met Steven Adams (Broken Family Band) who invited him to join Singing Adams, and Michael has played in his various different line-ups ever since. As he had waited such a long time to release his first album, Wood wanted to make sure he had a pool of songs to choose from. Going in to the recording process he had 25 song ideas and ended up writing more towards the end. “The songs were written basically as they were recorded. I’ve likened it to painting, so each day I would add a few more layers to all these little paintings until they were done. I think next time I am going to sit with a guitar and pen and paper and finish the songs in advance.” “I Will Never Let You Down”, “The Night Comes” and “Hopeless And Lonely” were all were all written on one day early on in writing for the album. Album opener “I Will Never Let You Down” is supposed to be nostalgic and hopeful, as he explains; “You can be shy and naive and be a success, have faith in yourself. Whoa Melodic’s eponymous debut long player is a loving hug of an album, a favourite cosy cardigan on a chilly day, ten tunes made for milkmen to whistle. It’s nostalgic, tune drenched and reassuring.
FORMAT: LP is on yelloow vinyl and includes a download.
Tracklist:
I Will Never Let You Down
Hit Me Where It Hurts
To See You Again
Totally Mad
Spring Forward Fall Back
The Night Comes
Disappointed Pessimist
Waste Time
Hopeless And Lonely
Ring Your Friends
Where Its At Is Where You Are WIALP068