Woodbrain - Swimming in Turpentine (2009)

Tracklist

01. Port Chicago Highway
02. Northbound
03. Dig
04. Broken Window
05. Shake 'em On Down
06. Home of My Own
07. Good Man
08. Storm Clouds
09. Turpentine
10. Hurricane Town
11. Black Water Side
12. Next Stop
13. Pottsville Conglomerate



With a guitar/harmonica/bass/drums line-up, Woodbrain might be mistaken for a typical blues collective — at least until this fiery Portland, Oregon foursome begins to play, when it quickly becomes apparent they are potentially an evolutionary force in the genre. Or several genres at once.

Woodbrain’s energy is incendiary; their music deeply rooted in tradition. And yet their songwriting and improvisation pull those roots in all kinds of directions informed by the generations of Son House, Jimi Hendrix, and John Coltrane. Without sacrificing an iota of heart or soul, their sound effortlessly skirts boundaries to reach blues, rock, Americana, and jam scene listeners alike.

Like fellow roots-based new music trailblazers Derek Trucks, Medeski Martin & Wood, and Widespread Panic, it is the exhilaration of making music within a profound tradition, and yet without boundaries, that keeps Woodbrain’s creative fires blazing.

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