The Wicklow producers DeepInTheWoods66 spent much of the last year recording Self Help Tapes vol. 2, a 12-track remotely collaborative album that features performers and musicians from Kilkenny to California.
DeepInTheWoods66 are Tommy O’ Sullivan who produced the album (vocals, guitars, synth, percussion), Neil Kilkenny (bass, guitar, synth, percussion), Rian Trench of Solar Bears and Leo Drezden (synth and saxophone) and Chris Con of Leo Drezden (drums, synth, vocals).
Those four musicians enlisted the help of Mike Watt of The Stooges, Minutemen and Firehouse, Kilkenny MC Captain Moonlight, John (Spud) Murphy of Hybrazil and Birds of Olympus and producer of Black Midi and Lankum, the voices of Karen Hammond
and Aoife Hammond, Rogue Spore, Ruth Kennington, Gavin McCabe, and Uncle Teardrop.
Self Help Tapes vol. 2 is a release of dystopian proportions, a sludgy album of live instrumentation informed by psychedelia, hip-hop, post-rock, dub and atmospheric rock, with lyrics that have a pandemic-induced heaviness to them (‘It’s The End Of The Fucking World’ and ‘I Just Want To Be Left The Fuck Alone’) and while also acknowledging social inequality (‘Tormented’) and allowing time for Massive Attack-inspired ‘Lexicon’ with Karen Hammond on vocals.
The album was quietly released last month, but certainly deserves to disquiet more ears.
It’s on Bandcamp.
Artwork by Boz Mugabe.
