BEST BEFORE END

Recalling the spectral and claustrophobic worlds of Big Star Third or Chris Bell�s I Am the Cosmos, as much as Sandy Denny, and Mazzy Star, Woodbine�s music is understated, obsessive, immaculate and dreamlike all the same. The presentation of the songs is often sparse to the point of nudity. Never is a note (however imperfect) out of place. The joining together of Susan�s and Graeme�s voices is always deliberate, uncrowded, imperfectly �right on�. Having enlisted the genius mixing skills of Royal Trux�s Adam and Eve for their debut, the band have now made their mighty sophomore LP with Mark Coyle at the controls. Recorded at Foel Studio, in Wales � a haven for the stranger sounds of British rock � the likes of My Bloody Valentine, Young Marble Giants, Scritti Politti and the Fall have all captured their sounds there. Famous for engineering the Happy Mondays live shows, nailing Oasis� debut, and producing Michael Head and The Strands (Shack), Coyle has captured the band�s narcotic bliss just right. When Graeme sings �Maybe too late for that�, elusively, on �Drink Drive�, you wonder whether he is answering the questions of time implicit in the album�s title � answering them with more open-ended, questioning phrases� Whatever the score, the band have come together to make another series of shattered masterstrokes � hypnotic, possessive, and deep under your skin after one listen. When Smog once sang, �It�s not gonna be a Hit / So why even bother with it?� he may well have been spitting sarcastically about Woodbine. Take another listen, enjoy the thrill � Best Before End is a genuine hit.