Jay Woodward "Letters We Told"

NOTE: This was originally published on 3/16/14 at KOVL's Facebook page

What’s the first thing you think of when you hear that an artist focuses on acoustic guitar? That the songs will be mid-tempo or slower? That you’re dealing with a singer-songwriter in one of the purest forms of that phrase? That the artist sings from the heart? If so, you’ve got Jay Woodward and his album “Letters We Told” pretty well pegged. From California, by way of New York and West Virginia, he adds a twist to the acoustic simplicity: lots of lessons learned as a Capitol Records sound engineer.

For the most part, the production tricks augment the music, rather than dominate it. On “The Truth”, it sounds like Woodward is firing up the ol’ tape machine for a couple seconds to lead into the song proper, and an echo effect adds to the image of an ascent, one possibly of a heavenly nature. One can truly visualize how he “lost the earth beneath my feet” and sees “the old oak tree on Baker’s farm” from an entirely new perspective. The sounds of children playing in the background augment the brief instrumental “I Will Be Glad.” Throughout the album, the music itself is what takes center stage, which is appropriate given the introspective and observational nature of the lyrics. It’s almost like you’re meant to hear the instrumentation, and nothing else. If the lyrics scratch you where you itch, that’s a bonus.

It becomes apparent after several songs that something is missing: the drum kit. When you listen for percussion sounds, about the most you’ll get is some tambourine or rolling cymbals. Snare and bass drums are absent, and that lends a soothing feel to the songs. The one exception to this “rule”—really, the one exception to the entire concept of the album—is the penultimate track “Don’t Fall Asleep.” The very first thing you hear is a drum machine track, quickly supported by a simple bass line, keyboards, and a high-pitched ringing interspersed throughout the song. It’s enough of an eerie feel that it could be compared to Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt”, and is a standout song purely for how it sounds, compared to the rest of the album.

Maybe you’re in the mood to just get inside yourself for a while. Maybe you want to remind yourself that there are still artists out there who subscribe to the theory that the music itself can carry the day, without messages that are lewd and/or angry. “Letters We Told” will fit the bill nicely.

Final rating: 3.6 out of 5

Download “Letters We Told” from iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/letters-we-told/id722971696

Download “Letters We Told” from Bandcamp: http://jaywoodward.bandcamp.com/album/letters-we-told

Listen to “Letters We Told” on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/jay-woodwar/sets/letters-we-told