But go ahead and spin “Roll Julia” again. For some reason, the alt-country tracks such as “Roll Julia” and “San Juan Hill” conjure up thoughts and comparisons to the likes of the Johnny Cash’s “Delia’s Gone ” that combination of an alt-traditional sound paired with some edgier lyrical content.
And unlike other artists that have been successful with this approach (The Cowboy Junkies and The Sadies spring to mind), this band continue to experiment and push themselves further with this very surreal, almost gothic, assortment of sounds. As this track fades out to the smooth sounds of a breeze, the alt-country and twang returns for “Up on the Mountain Top,” one of many new tracks that demonstrate “Yarrow” being a natural successor to “Jubilee” as opposed to their earlier material.įor me, The Deep Dark Woods’ biggest strength is their ability to fuse the old country sound with a modern vibe and musical identity. I was naturally curious to see which direction The Deep Dark Woods would take with their latest music the opening track “Fallen Leaves” retains the atmospheric elements as one would expect, albeit with a noticeable psychedelic accompaniment and some haunting backing vocals. With the publicized personnel changes and differences across their twelve year career, original members Ryan Boldt and Geoff Hilhorst have once again reunited to create the all-new offering “Yarrow,” boasting nine new tracks. Heading into the final quarter of 2017, The Deep Dark Woods have returned with their first new material in almost five years. The Deep Dark Woods had found their niche, and were willing to share their somber (yet eerie) brand of alt-Americana. Another cut from this album, “A voice is calling,” shared as much an alt-country sound as it did a similarity to the likes of Chris Isaac and Nick Cave. This was indeed still The Deep Dark Woods, but the emphasis on both the ‘morose’ and the ‘twang’ had been turned up several notches on their musical dial. Purchasing the album upon the strength of this single alone, it would only take one spin of this disc to demonstrate that the band still possessed their signature sound, but had also taken their alt-country approach a little more literally. It was around the time of the 2009 “Winter Hours” album release that I first heard tracks from this neo-folk rock act in particular the hits “All the money I had is gone” and the upbeat ‘country’ sounding “Nancy,” that offered up a burst of fiddle reminiscent of the Mary Chapin Carpenter classic “Down at the twist and shout,” and was featured heavily on CBC’s Sonica station around that time.Ī few years later I would become familiar with The Deep Dark Woods once again when “18 th of December” was given radio airplay during their 2013 “Jubilee” release.
One band in particular that leans a little closer to the obscure are the Saskatchewan-based The Deep Dark Woods. From the mainstream to the obscure, there really is something across this spectrum to appeal to most listeners’ musical tastes. One of the most unique aspects of the Canadian folk music scene is just how diverse this genre has proven to be.
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