Photo Courtesy of Grant Golden
Urban Soils' latest EP Live from Deepwoods combines classic rock with contemporary elements.
In its song “Dig Deeper,” Raleigh-based band Urban Soil informs its audience that “roots run deep,” an epitaph that reflects strongly in the band’s live album, Live from Deepwoods. The band’s EP provides a modern, bluesy look into the neo-rockabilly genre through its featured powerhouse performance.
Urban Soil does not shy away from mixing traditional and contemporary genres. In Live from Deepwoods, the band indulges in roots rock, incorporating elements of folk, country and blues (among other genres) into its music. Upbeat bluegrass-inspired violin phrases make its home on the EP just as much as electric guitar riffs that seem as though the band extracted them from ‘80s rock anthems. Thus the contemporary constraints of the genre do not affect the music of Live from Deepwoods.
Some of the songs run a bit long—the longest breaching nine minutes—but one hardly notices. The unswerving high energy of the tracks keeps the listener involved and makes the journey effortless for them to follow.
“Gotta Go,” the EP’s opener, serves as a lead-in to the exploration of roots rock that the EP eventually becomes. It’s definitely the most standard of the album’s songs, but it doesn’t leave the listener wanting. Rather, it introduces the rest of the EP in its comparatively typical length and arrangement.
Meanwhile, “Answer Man,” a standout on Live from Deadwoods, allows the band to delve into a more untouched territory. The track registers as an entertaining collaboration between Amy Winehouse, Lynyrd Skynyrd and The White Stripes.
The song laments the futility of running from the truth. The singer reminds the audience of all that cannot be seen in the dark before relaying, “Here comes the answer man / The answer man’s going to get you.” The elevation in speed and complexity that occurs as the song progresses demonstrates the increasing magnitude of the matter.
“Clown Glass” comes out as the album’s best signifier of Urban Soil’s musical proficiency due to its handful of spirited vocal verses connected by instrumental refrains that become the song’s emotional core. The track exemplifies singer-instrument interaction because when the singer interjects, the music responds in an organic and active way.
The EP as a whole remains consistent throughout, and while it uses each of its tracks as an opportunity to cover new ground, it ultimately flows well in its entirety. The generation of a collection of songs that works both as a complete piece and on an individual basis serves as a testament to Urban Soil’s strength as composers.
In terms of lyrics, the simplicity doesn’t detract from the music in any particular way—in fact, it enhances it at times by not drawing attention away from it. The lyricism, while not complex or acutely far-reaching, is never grating, as sometimes occurs when artists attempt to force intellectualism. (I’m looking at you, Lana Del Rey).
Additionally, some could argue that many of the EP’s riffs go on too long or consume too much space. I, personally, enjoyed them. As well, in a live performance, one must take into consideration that they will make certain changes to the material in the heat of the moment.
As a live performance, Live from Deepwoods comes out as a success. The band invokes a vibrancy in its performance that today’s production-heavy climate doesn’t easily allow. Most people can’t find a successful translation from produced tracks to a live performance, let alone one that sounds so good. In the land of clean-cut overproduction and over-singing, Urban Soil introduces a refreshing rawness and honesty.