“As soon as I heard these songs and watched the video, my mind was instantly made up that this was something exceptional, both calming and beautiful to listen to (and watch) and certainly deserving of Song of the Day on Folk Radio UK.”
-Alex Gallacher, Folk Radio UK
“Well, I guess that means there are more of the 100-or-less copies of tapes like this lovely folk song collection from Albuquerque’s AJ Woods for you and me to flip at leisure, dear Cerberus reader. And leisure is what it’s all about here with the breezy and easy, hammock-swinging tunes sung on this tape. Don’t worry about any cassette warble here, that’s the endearing quake of Woods’ croon, a meek but strongly delivered voice, cracked under the pressure of upper-octave reach to reveal each song’s own little passions. All eight are minor-keyed, but in their soft sadness gaze up longingly with a starry-eyed wonder that feels hopeful and a little hopeless at the same time.”
-Strauss, Tiny Mix Tapes
"AJ Woods possesses the rare gift of direct eloquence."
-M. Brianna Stallings, ABQ Free Press
“Between the looming background of urban noise, there is a firm yet delicate musicality here. It does not careen and swoop so much as it flows and emerges like a flower. Woods here becomes a symbol of how humans interact with this desert world, often barren but still full of secret beauty and unexpected epiphanies…As the recording proceeds, it’s clear that here is the beginning of a masterwork that will stretch itself out over many years, many recordings and infinite gigs. Woods’ temporality is reminiscent of a youngish Neil Young, still struggling with the terrible wonder of life on Earth and working diligently, harmonically and melodiously toward reconciling that complex and beauteous terror with the facts of a life lived simply and gloriously present.”
-August March, Weekly Alibi
"Woods’s music stands out from the pack ….[His] chops are grade A, his songs are worthy of a Drag City release….The 10 tracks on The Fence deal with the more hazardous class of memories and heavy life experiences that, without an outlet, can mire one in hopelessness and the morass of depression...Woods' songwriting...is some of the best of 2016....Physically tiny, yet massive in content, this cassette."
- Geoffrey Plant, Weekly Alibi
Born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, AJ Woods has been a part of the Southwest music scene for over a decade. He has released three full-length albums (Couch Confessions, 2009, S/T, 2013, The Fence, 2016), a critically-acclaimed EP (Halocline, 2019), as well as singles and live recordings, all of which have earned him comparisons to people such as Jason Molina and Neil Young. Still, "Woods'[s] lyrical style, guitar playing and singing are his own—something that can't often be said." (Alibi) He's played with acts such as Jim Stallings (JJ Light, Sir Douglas Quintet), A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Big Thief and The Handsome Family among many others. With music and lyrics that are “poignant and powerful" (ABQ Free Press), Woods creates not only songs, but "unpretentious poetry." (Alibi) “As soon as I heard these songs and watched the video, my mind was instantly made up that this was something exceptional, both calming and beautiful to listen to (and watch) and certainly deserving of Song of the Day on Folk Radio UK.” (Folk Radio UK) In times like these, Woods's music and words are grounding forces. They take us back to the earth on which we live and depend, remind us that we have hearts, bones that break and heal, blood that leaves, blood we can share. They show we are related to, made and capable of many things.