WOVEN HAND / The Laughing Stalk [2012]

After a live album and a "Best Of" album, it seem like Wovenhand were closing a chapter in their life and with the new stylistic direction taken on 2012's The Laughing Stalk it makes it so.  

Dave Edwards takes on a heavier, guitar driven approach with a seemingly more modern rock oriented style but still maintains a bit of the neo-folk sound they did so well in the past.  With a little focus on the Middle Eastern flavors, Wovenhand invites a Native American sound to the mix and gives a whole new way to sound menacing.  The new style doesn't always work but I'm interested to hear what Edwards & co. come up with as they grow more comfortable with this new direction.

3½ ass' jaw bones out of 5

Songs Of Note: Long Horn; As Wool

WOVENHAND / Live At Roepaen [2012]

After performing for over a decade it's a gift to finally receive a proper live album from Woven Hand. 

2012's Live At Roepaen is suitably recorded in an old church in The Netherlands giving the performance a haunting and intimate feel that is instantly captivating.  

Dave Edwards gives a hypnotizing and intense performance that's complimented with by a precise and powerful band.  Fans are treated to 3 songs from Edwards' previous band 16 Horsepower's Folklore album.  It's the perfect album that is coupled with a DVD of the performance that's a simply wonderful watch.

5 sit down performances out of 5

Songs Of Note: Kingdom Of Ice; Speaking Hands

WOVEN HAND / Black Of The Ink EP[2011]

10 years into their career Woven Hand (Dave Edwards to be exact) unleash their 2011 6 song EP entitled Black Of The Ink.  

What we have here are 6 songs each from one of their 6 albums, recorded with just Dave and his guitar, which serves as a compact overview of their 10 years as an act.  It doesn't sound like much but it works really, really well.  Edwards' music has always been, at the core, about the evils of the human soul, so it seems fitting it be recorded in such a powerfully intimate fashion.  

What sells the whole deal is it's packaged as a beautiful 110 page hardcover book featuring handwritten lyrics of every Woven Hand song to date coupled with some abstract drawings all by Dave Edwards.  

5 twisted human souls out of 5

Songs Of Note: Not One Stone; Whistling Girl

WOVEN HAND / The Threshingfloor [2010]

Woven Hand has come to be known to use Old Testament Christianity as a way to invoke fear, wonder and self-doubt and on 2010's The Threshingfloor, Dave Edwards and the boys dig deeper and explore old Indian, Celtic and Middle Eastern folk as a tool of dread.

This is WH at some of their most hypnotizing and compelling yet, captivating the listener with a vast array of ethnic instruments used in such an organic way you might not even notice them at first. 

4 Red States out of 5

Songs Of Note: The Threshingfloor; Singing Grass

WOVEN HAND / Ten Stones [2008]

2008's Ten Stones marks the first album in which Woven Hand wrote and recorded as a proper functioning group rather than Dave Edwards doing it all himself.

There is a noticeable change in style but it works for the better.  Edwards' furiously menacing vocals and deeply woven textures are still there but with a lighter touch to it that breathes new life into the fabric the band uses to spin it's musical tales of prophetic doom.

It's almost like starting over again, which makes for a few bumps but is a strong indication of great things to come.

3½ curious Jobim's out of 5

Songs Of Note: Not One Stone; Cohawkin Road

WOVEN HAND / Purr [2006]

In an attempt to recreate the artistic success of 2003's Blush Music, Woven Hand returns to rearranging older songs for the avant-garde dance group, Ultima Vez.
While Blush created a creaky, haunting atmosphere, 2006's Puur is full of the creepy but fails to make much of a lasting impact.  It meanders around with withering feedback and crackling drones which quickly wears out it's welcome.  One might think WH knew it wasn't up to par and that's why it's only available out of Germany and for a HEFTY price.

2½ Sixteen Horsepowers out of 5

Songs Of Note: Low Estate; Dirty Blue

WOVEN HAND / Mosaic [2006]

With 16 Horsepower six feet under, David Eugene Edwards could finally give his all to the Woven Hand project.  2006's Mosaic showcases that effort and dedication.  

Mostly stepping away from the folk country roots and leaning towards an Eastern European flavor, Edwards seems to be channeling Peter Gabriel's Passion score.  His music conjures up images of the apocalypse while his lyrics and voice are so intense I'll bet he could drive me into the corner crying like a little bitch with his insane spiritual death ramblings and threats.  

5 hurdy gurdy monkeys dancing in the flames out of 5

Songs Of Note: Winter Shaker; Slota Prow / Full Armour

WOVEN HAND / Consider The Birds [2004]

Still part of 16 Horsepower, Dave Eugene Edwards' focus isn't all on his solo project Woven Hand but you would never know it when listening to 2004's Consider Them Birds.

Denser in sound and more tight in songwriting, Woven Hand's 2nd original album walks further down the Southern path of the damned.  Like a sermon for the dead, Consider Them Birds is a bleak road to travel but always decorated with passionate emotion.

4 Suffocating Old Testaments out of 5

Songs Of Note:  Off The Cuff; Oil On Panel

WOVEN HAND / Blush Music [2003]

Within seconds of pressing play on 2003's Blush Music we are transported from the comfort of our homes and into Woven Hand's Southern Gothic world.

Blush Music is technically Woven Hand's first album reworked for a Belgian avant-garde dance company and that's all right.  Rearranged and given more room to breathe, the music seems more like a film score than a "rock" group album.   Painting images of buzzards circling over the dead and rusted weathercock's amplified squeaks over a ghost town, Blush Music is creaky, haunting and so musically visual I find it soars past the original album.

5 murder of crows out of 5

Songs Of Note: Cripplegate [Standing On Glass]; Animlatios [Ain't No Sunshine]

WOVEN HAND / Woven Hand [2002]

In between 16 Horsepower albums, David Eugene Edwards takes a solo ride on his new project entitled Woven Hand.
Brooding over a sound palate leaning towards a Gothic Bluegrass sound that's teetering on the brink of neo-folk, Edwards sounds right at home here. If not for the twangy sounds of mandolins, brush drums and banjos, one might actually swear it was Nick Cave washing his menace all over this haunting and hypnotizing project.
It's the type of music that's meant to played loudly over the mountaintops as the sun goes down on a dead winter's night. Simply a wonderful delight for this weary traveler.

4 nods to Bill Withers out of 5

Songs Of Note: My Russia; Arrowhead