Woo A La Luna

For the label's 50th release, Emotional Rescue returns to the music of Woo to close a trilogy of reissue collaboration albums, in A La Luna. Following Whichever Way You Are Going 1982) and Into The Heart Of Love 1990), their opus A La Luna 1991) was the last of the bands song based albums and represents a wonderful way to close this association. Reworked, re-ordered and remastered especially for this first time vinyl release, brothers Mark and Clive Ives again present their unique, ground-breaking and at the time, heart-wrenchingly overlooked music, that seems to fit the folk-new age-electronics of today as well, if not better, than when first released. Across 20 plus songs Mark's guitar, clarinet and vocals are as ever drenched in Clive's mixing desk mastery. Echo and reverb shimmer as the short pieces rise and fall like the wind blowing across nighttime trees. With no song going much beyond three minutes, A La Luna flows as one piece. The unmistaken sound of Woo wraps itself around you in an essence, warmth and glow that is addictive, meditative and uplifting. Featuring the original vocal performance of Mark's love ode, Magic In The Dark stands as a centerpiece where, as with all their albums, vocals appear at a minimum, as part of the musical journey. The underlying somber nature of the album comes as the band ended more than a decade of recording with little critical or commercial success. The fact they did not release a full album again and moved towards a more meditation outlook was a loss, however, their recent rediscovery and the excellent releases by Drag City and Palto Flats included, has finally given the Ive's brothers not just a place in appreciation, but has shown that there really is no one like Woo. Enjoy the magic.