Woodhands

Remorsecapade (Paper Bag)

By Jolene Torr
Published: March 31st, 2010 | 7:00am

Lately, there is a lot of the dance-punk sound coming out of Toronto—and although song titles like “Sluts” and “When the Party Is Over” don’t advertise the deepness one might hope to find in an album, Canadians Dan Werb and Paul Banwatt (aka Woodhands) do well in reconciling these electro elements with noise textures on their second full-length, Remorsecapade.

The first half of the album hovers in shallow water, with videogame sonics, synth loops, aggressive beats, and vocals that echo an angry Simon Le Bon / Robert Smith lovechild. By track three, however, the duo unearths their identity with a pleasing rawness.

A few songs on Remorsecapade travel into anonymity with unwavering tempos. These numbers rely on mantras, repetition, and overloaded synth and drums which leaves them forgettable. By the end, however, the aggressive rhythms halt. On “Dissembler,” a sweet feminine voice chimes in and things become quite lovely. “I Want to Be Together” is a love story that warbles into the last song where the chant, “At least you’re feelin’…” closes the album softly in an unexpected comedown. And that’s all that you can ask for.
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