Long before country music crossed over into the mainstream and the pedal steel started cropping up on every record you swung your lugholes at, five Saskatonians were making the sweetest roots music you could imagine in Saskatoon, one of the few cities in the world named after a berry. Those five men went by the name The Deep Dark Woods, and after their eponymous debut album and 2007’s “Hang Me Oh Hang Me”, the band really hit their straps with the superb “Winter Hours” in 2009. The album, primarily recorded live, captures the essence of the band’s warm, earthy music, lovely harmonies cozying up with mountain music guitars to make a sound that seems to span the timeline of folk music, back into the campfire-warmed mists and forward to the bluesy heritage of Howlin’ Wolf and right through to the Band.
With a new album “The Place I Left Behind” released at the tail end of last year and building on the band’s momentum, enriching their sound even further, this first UK show is as welcome as it is overdue, thanks to the efforts of Drifter Promotions. Not many bands manage to fuse together such a wide range of instrumentation without muddying their sound, and even fewer achieve the kind of warmth of tone these Canadians manage. Ryan Boldt is blessed with one of those voices that resonates through the ages, giving the band’s songs a timelessness that’s almost impossible to conjure and qualifies as the most beautiful alchemy. Rich guitars, ghostly Hammond, an easy loose-limbed spirit allied to a tightness that only bands who grow together over years can realize. While Fleet Foxes get the headlines for the smooth harmonies and Felice Brothers build a reputation for ramshackle roots rock, The Deep Dark Woods manage to match both, but with none of the hype. Rumours of the band’s live show suggest this is one of those genuine unmissable gigs that come along once in a blue moon and simply couldn’t come more highly recommended.
Tickets are available here, but snap them up fast, there are only 20 left at the time of this post…
