Woven Hand

[Josh]

Woven Hand sounds like the name of a band, but it isn't. It's really just one man-- David Eugene Edwards, perhaps best known as the lead singer for the underrated rock band 16 Horsepower.

I've only heard two of 16HP's albums, so I'm hardly an expert. But I have been listening to Woven Hand's latest, Consider the Birds, for the past few months now, so I feel like I'm prepared to say a few things about it. Like that it's an astonishing, utterly fantastic record that warrants another update to my Best of 2K4 list.

DEE makes dark, intense, sometimes theatrical music that's equal parts art-rock and American roots. He's a practicing Christian, and his lyrics are filled with frightening Old Testament imagery and dark ruminations on God's grace and human depravity that would bring a smile to the face of Flannery O'Connor.

It's a great, great album that has already become an all-time favorite for me. I know Tom's a fan... anyone else here familiar with Woven Hand?

[Tom]

Here is the short review of CTB that I did last year for InFuze back when I had time to write reviews:

Consider The Birds - Woven Hand

Wow! That word was literally my gut reaction when I first heard Consider the Birds by Woven Hand about two weeks ago. Normally a critique isn't far from my lips after hearing a new album, but this time was different. I knew I'd found something very unique.
Let me fill you in on just who Woven Hand is: David Eugene Edwards. Edwards is most well known for his band 16 Horsepower. And he truly has carved a compelling musical canvas with that southern gothic outfit; but honestly, 16 Horsepower never grabbed my attention and heart quite like his side-project Woven Hand has. From the brooding piano bass line of "Sparrow Falls" that begins Consider the Birds, you get the feeling that this man has seen a lot in his life. More importantly, he's on a mission to explore the dark crevasses of our souls to find what we truly fear, and ultimately what we hope for.

Listening to Consider the Birds is less like a collection of songs and more like a collection of exquisite musical poems. There's something very primal in Edwards' vocal style that evokes great artists like Tom Waits, Richard Ashcroft, Jeff Buckley, and Jim Morrison. But he doesn't sound like them as much as he moves your soul like those artists do... and then some. His lyrics lay to waste the superfluous trappings we try to hide behind, and exposes a bare soul with bare desires and obligations to its creator.

The song "To Make a Ring" is worth fifteen dollars. The dark, swirling, tribal, Indian-inspired music juxtaposed with an invocation to "gather 'round the throne" of the Almighty is a rare, powerful sonic treat. There is nothing contrived, commercial, or insipid about Edwards' call to worship. This grandson of a Nazarene minister evokes awe and respect for God in a deeply personal and stark way. You get the feeling that he's been on the receiving end of God's correcting arm many times; and his brutal honestly will leave you speechless.

Don't get me wrong, Woven Hand isn't all fire and brimstone; but David Eugene Edwards does offer us a picture of God we're often unfamiliar with. That picture is one of an all-powerful Creator that we shouldn't flippantly ignore, and who will not be mocked. Think "Joy Division and Nick Cave get religion" and you'd be close to categorizing Woven Hand, but even that is a cheap attempt at describing the real deal. This music will move you in a profound way. While the album is called Consider the Birds, it's impossible to listen to it without also considering your soul.

[bethany]

I'm a fan as well, although certainly not an expert - I just started listening about a month ago. WH isn't as listener-friendly as 16HP on first brush, but it has a lot of depth to it that rewards repeated listens.