Haunt The Woods - Ubiquity 
Release Date: Out Now
It irks me somewhat that hugely talented musicians don't always get the recognition, success or guitar shaped swimming pools that they deserve but then I have to remind myself that creating art isn't about the reward beyond the the art itself and then I settle down. The reason for my irkishness (not a word but I'm rolling with it) is that Cornish quartet Haunt the Woods have only gone and release their second album, 'Ubiquity', and they are still not headlining festivals or playing to massive stadiums. Anyway, we've got another album to enjoy so I'll quit my bellyaching and get on with celebrating great new music.
The album opens with the unashamedly prog-rock bombast of 'Fever Dream' which is the sound of the sun rising and rapidly sprawling out over the Cornish hills to create a scene that only nature could conjure. 'Gold' follows on with a more subdued melody but no less intensity as the percussive rhythm pierces the bluesy, muddy guitars and swathes of vocal harmonies. On 'Save Me' the quartet draw you in with Jeff Buckley-esque mumbled vocals and a slow strum before the band explode in a glorious crescendo of noise and release. The lushness of the guitars and vocals that flirt with falsetto make 'Equilibrium' an absorbing listen before the piano based malady of 'Home' takes you to a place somewhere between Elton and Bowie in the early hours of the morning.
'The Line Pt. II' is possibly the track I'd use to introduce newcomers to Haunt the Woods as the piano and vocal combo is made to swell with luscious strings and then a Brian May inspired guitar solo and build to the mountain summit show the band's ambitions, abilities and sheer awesomeness. Then again, 'Now Is Our Time' embraces the band's Muse-ish tendencies with dramatic flourishes and stadium sized melodies coupled intensely intricate guitar work. There is some respite on 'Ubiquity' as the band embrace their inner Syd Barrett on a slow and subdued acoustic strum with slithering strings and vocals that seem to float in from a different plane. The haunting vocals of 'Overflow' will stop you in your tracks while 'Sleepwalking' is a marvel of vocal harmonies with only sparse piano notes for occasional company.
It is gracious, to say the least, of the Cornish men to name their penultimate song after my teenage band but 'Numb' is a delightfully fragile song that finds the strength to rise, phoenix-like and triumphant, from the deathbed to live again. 'Sad and Done' closes the album with a song and a sound that is more mature than their years would suggest they should be capable of and that sums up the whole album really. Haunt the Woods are almost (almost) too good for this world but maybe their ambition, their soaring melodies and the sheer audacity to create music this huge is just what the world needs right now when we're been fed on soundbites, TikToks and songs that were written by AI.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/hauntthewoodsofficial
Live Dates:
12th November - Stanley & Matilda, Sheffield
13th November - Disorder, Manchester
15th November - McChullis, Glasgow
16th November - Think Tank, Newcastle
17th November - Brickmakers, Norwich
18th November - The Horn, St Albans
19th November - The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham
20th November - Camden Assembly, London
21st November - Moles, Bath
22nd November - Cavern, Exeter
23rd November - Old Bakery Studios, Truro