CD Reviews

The Woodrow Wilsons | The Devil Jonah

Whitehaus Family Records (2012)

By EMMA DESSAU | March 7, 2012

3.0 Stars

The Woodrow Wilsons are a haushold name — to anyone familiar with Jamaica Plain's Whitehaus Collective, that is. The folky five-piece ensemble recorded their latest in August 2010 at 1867 Recording Studio — a masonic temple-turned-recording-studio in Chelsea. The Woodrows kept the record to themselves for over a year, and finally released it on the Whitehaus label last month. It's the Woodrows' fullest recording to date, masterfully mixed, complete with horns, harmonies, and chanting. The opening track, "Locks and Keys I," builds from finger picking to clanging cymbal and horns before running smoothly into "Anthromorphics," a celebration song. It sounds like the best New England winter party imaginable, with whiskey served in Mason jars, and plenty of wool sweaters. In fact, this album will hit a soft spot for anyone who's fought the good fight of a Boston winter. "I Love the Atlantic" and "The Ocean Is Rising To Meet You" are melancholy odes to the treacherousness of water, while "I'm Not Going Under" is like a dark, lonely walk home in icy wind. Hopefully this weird, warm winter doesn't surprise us with a March kick in the face, but if it does, The Devil Jonah can keep us warm.

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ARTICLES BY EMMA DESSAU

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