THE THRESHINGFLOOR

David Eugene Edwards is the artist behind the formation of Woven Hand, but before this band, he was also the person that created the band "16 Horsepower", an alt-country band that utilized some of the same styles as he uses with Woven Hand. The big difference here is that Woven Hand has more of the folk element intermingled with dark, minor chord, almost gothic gospel music.

"The Threshingfloor" is the bands 7th album, released in 2010. The album really continues with that heavy, almost apocalyptic sound that still spouts out spiritual lyrics but done in a fire and brimstone style as before. The project used sparse instrumentation when they first started out, but has expanded to a full band as they are in this album.

Though the music is very root-sy, it is surprisingly dark for spiritual music. But that actually lends itself to the earlier folk style anyway. This album is full of that style, but it also takes from some traditional dance styles, and in this album, those are the best tracks as some of the usual ones are starting to feel a bit stale when you first hear them. As they grow on you, you get a better appreciation for them, but that doesn't change the fact that the overall feel of each album doesn't change much.

The better tracks here are the ones that sound least like songs from previous albums like "The Threshingfloor", "Singing Grass", the "New Order" cover "Truth", "Orchard Gate" and "Denver City". All of the other tracks are still okay tracks, they are just pretty much material that we have already heard from them.

As much as I love 16 Horsepower, I have a harder time having as much enthusiasm for Woven Hand. They are great for a listen once in a while, but, as I said, tend to sound to much the same. This is a pretty good album if you want to try out the sound of the band, and you will probably love it the first time you hear it, but if you've heard the band before, then you have pretty much heard what is offered on this album.