http://www.indieville.com/old/revwoodywhatroar.htm

This ep, on the wonderful Ionik Records label, collects nine short songs by the very diy-influenced Erik Schmall (under the pseudonym Woody Whatever). The recording level is delightfully unprofessional, and many songs, such as “Salute to Classical Music” feature quite a bit of tape hiss. Fortunately, the production quality never seems to interfere with the music, instead making it sound more like a musical artifact. This is a very pop-based affair, as songs such as “Stale Males” are actually quite reminiscent of bands like Pavement (except much more amateurish and experimental). On the other hand, “On Your Way To” sounds like it belongs on an oldies collection, despite the poor recording quality. This ep represents a nice variety of pop songs, using a mixture of spacey, slow pieces, as well as excited, energetic ones. Rest assured, listen to this once and you’ll probably get some of these tunes stuck in your head immediately. As for influences, this ep seems to be quite similar to music by bands such as Smog, Pavement, Guided By Voices, and perhaps even some Modest Mouse. As well, the lo-fi, home-produced aspect of it does not detract from it’s beauty, but rather adds to it. But, I would still really like to see what Woody Whatever could do if he was given the chance to have his music professionally recorded and produced. DIY indie fans, you’ll eat this up.

82%

Top Tracks: “Let a Saw In,” “Calculated Confusion,” “I Won’t Last”