Writerly Taste & Crossover Vision Forms Decadent LP by Spirituals/Blues Guitarist Novelists famously use their day jobs for material-guitarist Tom Rodwell mines his crossover blues career with a writerly taste for the surreal on Wood & Waste, a decadent and charmingly outré collection. Wood & Waste is what used to be called a cult record - a set of warmly anarchic influences and timeworn qualities that is Tom Rodwell's trademark. His songs resemble ragged short stories, cobbled-together genres from an alternate history. "The aim is to locate each song in a very specific room of it's own, with contrasting feels like layers of paint or old wallpaper." The album's centrepiece is "She Got Me Boiling", a juggernaut of psychedelic calypso welded to mindless riffs on cannibalism that would make the Mighty Sparrow blush. Driven by a bass-heavy guitar pulse and animated carnival drums, it's a fiendishly irresistible piece of music, as is the absurdist one-chord freak-out "Touch Me Like a Teddybear", featuring NZ free improv notorieties Jeff Henderson and Chris O'Connor on drums. Improvisation is a key theme of Wood & Waste, where frequently a skeletal idea transforms into a fleshy dance rhythm. "Keep on Knockin'" subverts a determined Bo Diddley beat with dissonant Mellotron in praise of Edward Hopper and William Morris. "Plenty Time" is a species of prog rhumba set in Roman Britain, indebted to Nigerian giant King Sunny Ade. An English artist moored in New Zealand, Rodwell's revival of blues music as a vehicle for dance has been supple enough to embrace rhythms from spirituals and calypso, and seen him support acts like Otis Taylor, C.W. Stoneking and Leon Russell. ("Beautiful tunes, beautiful groove-you don't hear that anymore," said Derek Trucks). A parallel career as a session player has seen him moonlight live and on record for artists as diverse as Lonnie Holley, Robert Lamm and Don McGlashan, as well as various avant-jazz projects. LP features download card.
Release date:
October 29, 2021
Label:
Install our app to receive notifications when new upcoming releases are added.

Recommended equipment and accessories
-
Nagaoka MP-110H Cartridge
Features a high-quality elliptical stylus that provides excellent tracking and minimizes distortion, delivering a detailed sound reproduction with an output voltage of 5.0 mV
-
Cartridges - Top Picks
A selection of turnatble cartridges that provide great performance and sound quality
-
Denon DP-400
Featuring a high-precision, belt-driven mechanism and an adjustable tonearm that ensures optimal tracking and minimal resonance
-
Pro-Ject Phono Box DC Pre-Amp
Compact, high-performance phono preamplifier for both MM and MC cartridges, delivering a clean, detailed signal with minimal noise.
-
Vevor Ultrasonic Cleaner
Thoroughly clean and restore your vinyl records, removing dust, dirt, and grime from every groove without damaging the surface
Featured Upcoming Vinyl
-
Yttling Jazz Illegal Hit
Year0001
September 25, 2025 -
BENEE Ur an Angel I'm Just Particles (Angel White)
Universal Records
November 7, 2025 -
Kassa Overall CREAM
Warp Records
September 12, 2025 -
Frayle Heretics & Lullabies
Napalm Records
October 10, 2025 -
Yazmin Lacey Teal Dreams
Virgin Music International
October 24, 2025 -
Idlewild Idlewild
V2 Records
October 3, 2025 -
Amber Mark Pretty Idea
Jasmine Music/PMR Records/Interscope
October 10, 2025 -
Factory Floor Tell Me
Phantasy Sound
September 12, 2025 -
Joanne Robertson Blurrr
AD 93
September 19, 2025 -
Sarah McLachlan Better Broken
Concord Records
September 19, 2025 -
Emma Louise & Flume Dumb
Flume
October 10, 2025 -
Wretched Decay
Metal Blade
October 17, 2025 -
Sophie Ellis-Bextor Perimenopop
Republic Records
September 12, 2025 -
Buscabulla Se Amaba Así (Clear)
Domino Record Co
September 12, 2025