Love Is Love

Brooklyn’s Woods stretch the boundaries of the term jam band. With thoughts surrounding love seemingly always at the lyrical core, the folk-rock outfit oscillates between riff-on-repeat freak folk and dizzying, gritty, psychedelic jam session. But the band’s newest, Love Is Love, walks in new musical directions. “Hit That Drum” has a slight Animal Collective vibe, and “Spring Is in the Air” feels more like a grand musical piece than a simple song, with a long, dark build that keeps growing outward. During moments when the guitar might have typically whipped into a solo, horns take the lead with clean, straightforward hooks. Part of Woods’ signature appeal has been those explosive guitar breakdowns, and they are still present, just in shorter spurts. The album’s bookended with two versions of “Love Is Love,” the finale feeling more akin to the signature Woods psychedelic rock/freak folk blend. It is what it is, love or otherwise.