Sun and Shade

Woods continues their winning streak with “Sun and Shade,” their fifth album in as many years. In terms of actual songs, this may be the band’s most consistent record yet: their sound isn’t markedly different than “At Echo Lake,” but they’ve refined it even further, cleaning up the production and writing jangly pop masterpiece after jangly pop masterpiece. Woods remain resolutely psychedelic despite the more focused approach, though, and it’s apparent in both the whirling electronics that color many of the tracks here and the two longer jams that break up the run of up-tempo pop. “Out of the Eye” is a worthy addition and an excellent example of what makes the group such a compelling live act, as they tackle the motorik krautrock with ample aplomb and skill. “Sol y Sombra” is the lone misstep, to my ears, an aimless hippie jam that nearly reaches 10 minutes, and probably holds this thing back from being a real album of the year contender. Still, you can’t blame a band for wanting to blend what they really want to do with what they unarguably do extremely well, and “Sun and Shade” is probably the most complete portrait of Woods to date. If the Rear House studio can keep pumping out great records this consistently, here’s hoping they never stop.