If I Don't Come Home You'll Know I'm Gone

I suppose writing a little review for the Wooden Sky is the least I could do. After all, one of the guys from the band was an exceptionally helpful teaching assistant. We had a joke among some of the students 'cause he totally ditched us mid-semester to go on tour with his band. Thanks, man. You're awesome.

The Wooden Sky - Like City and Colour but less depressing.

Again, it was one of those bands on my peripherals that I had never truly paid attention to during their first release. Although I do admit that the Wooden Sky's track, called "the Wooden Sky", well it really impressed me.

The sophomore album If I Don't Come Home You'll Know I'm Gone is this mass collective effort of all sorts of important Canadian indie names. The band must have called in all their favours because the credentials on this record include members and ex-members of Mars Volta, Ohbijou, Forest City Lovers, Arcade Fire and Mother Mother.

From the few tidbits I had heard from them before and judging by the title of album, I had my hesitations going in. To be honest, I was bracing myself for something long, heartbreaking and emotionally draining; something that I wouldn't want to listen through in one sitting. Instead, I was quite pleasantly surprised. Although it has its wonderfully dramatic moments including the tracks Angels and Call If You Need Me, they don't run into the trouble of becoming overbearing. In fact, a hefty portion of the record is warm and has the tendency to induce subtle smiles.

The Wooden Sky - Something Hiding For Us In The Night (mp3) (amazon) (iTunes)

It's what I like to call "thinking music". Good for driving along to on rural roads, or for curling up with a book on a quiet night. More folk than rock, but they'll rock anyway just to prove that they can. Take a listen to the first single Something Hiding For Us in the Night to get a sense of what I'm babbling about.

Personally, I like to compare the sounds to City and Colour. I keep thinking that the Wooden Sky is what Dallas Green would sound like if he wasn't so depressed all the time.

If I Don't Come Home You'll Know I'm Gone drops on August 25th.