FRESH BAKED
in NYC
Alexa Woodward
Speck
2009 | Constant Clip Recordings
B+

With the recent shuttering of the old Knitting Factory (which was actually the new Knitting Factory, relocated after the first one closed), I guess you officially, finally, can no longer refer to someone as a “downtown” musician. I’ve often heard that term in reference to New York musicians who aren’t from here and don’t sound like they live here now, so now that there’s no “downtown” music scene (formally anyway), what do you call someone like Alexa Woodward – from Virginia and sounding something like a cool breeze set to music? Woodward’s easygoing second album, Speck, sounds like a mildly psychedelic Gillian Welch in a self-imposed artist’s retreat.
More on Alexa Woodward | Speck

RESONANCE PREVIEW
Feel like digging down to Brooklyn’s soulful acoustic roots? Resonance at Bar Matchless this Wednesday is your night. Mike Gorman, Alexa Woodward (pictured), Craig Chesler and Justin Brown will cradle you in the resonant tones of their wooden instruments and handmade songs.

If you pay attention to the local music scene in NYC, there’s no doubt you’ve noticed a folk and roots-Americana revival. Banjos, ukuleles and mandolins are commonly strummed, plucked and hammered. Sadly, not all of these songsters shimmer. But when it’s done well, it’s great.

Armed with a banjo (that at times comes across more like a harp), a full, animated voice, instantly memorable lyrics and simply excellent songwriting, Alexa Woodward does it well. Each of Alexa’s songs is structured and unfolds as if spirited by an old soul, like a lost undiscovered classic. Her voice is commanding and present, colored by moderate vibrato, but maintaining the necessary clarity for imagery-heavy lyrical narratives to shine. Hers are the kind of cliché-less, sensible and immediately relatable words that sound as good advice or a great story spoken by a friend. Don’t be surprised if Alexa Woodward opens for Neko Case sometime in the near future.

For show details, click HERE.

RESONANCE PREVIEW
Feel like digging down to Brooklyn’s soulful acoustic roots? Resonance at Bar Matchless this Wednesday is your night. Mike Gorman, Alexa Woodward (pictured), Craig Chesler and Justin Brown will cradle you in the resonant tones of their wooden instruments and handmade songs.

If you pay attention to the local music scene in NYC, there’s no doubt you’ve noticed a folk and roots-Americana revival. Banjos, ukuleles and mandolins are commonly strummed, plucked and hammered. Sadly, not all of these songsters shimmer. But when it’s done well, it’s great.

Armed with a banjo (that at times comes across more like a harp), a full, animated voice, instantly memorable lyrics and simply excellent songwriting, Alexa Woodward does it well. Each of Alexa’s songs is structured and unfolds as if spirited by an old soul, like a lost undiscovered classic. Her voice is commanding and present, colored by moderate vibrato, but maintaining the necessary clarity for imagery-heavy lyrical narratives to shine. Hers are the kind of cliché-less, sensible and immediately relatable words that sound as good advice or a great story spoken by a friend. Don’t be surprised if Alexa Woodward opens for Neko Case sometime in the near future.

For show details, click HERE.