“When meek-looking BC expat Dan Werb, the cracked mind behind openers Woodhands , came onstage sporting nerdy glasses and what looked like his bar mitzvah suit, then hunkered down behind a bank of Korgs, effects pedals and wire-spewing consoles, visions of electronic Suzuki recitals danced in my head. Thirty seconds in, those expectations were shot to shit.

"...It sounds as if it has been cooked up on a dirty cast-iron frying pan. The pops and crackle of vinyl mix with electric hum, Tom Waits-style piano, saxophone, sampled dialogue and late '70s electronica, all seemingly pulled together on some Commodore 64 found in a dumpster. The genre: Electro-trash-Euro-scrap, but with the crucial soul of pop. The result is a cluster of charming hook-laden compositions. The Woodhands high-tech low-tech approach is what makes this recording work so well. It is never too slick and never too eclectic. The ambient rumbles are as important to the whole as anything else, and each has a reason for being there. Live, the band often performs accompanied by a dancer and multimedia projections - the music is only a part of the total vision."

"The debut album from Montreal-via-Vancouver producer, programmer and keyboardist Dan Werb (of the Red Pony Club and Jazz For Robots collectives), woodhands deftly combines the flinty, abstract minimalism you'd expect of artists with no capital letters in their names with a wonky organic psychedelia reminiscent of Chocolate Weasel or even Pink Floyd. Fat, phasing, acid-porn synthesizers melt effortlessly with twisted samples about sales, marketing, truth and aging on my fave cut, Honest Broker. Obviously a pianist of great skill, Werb's biggest talent lies in his ability to mould synth sounds into bubbling stabs of pure funk. Remember the dope keyboards on Stevie Wonder's Very Superstitious? If the 1970s had happened in the 23rd century, this is what it would sound like."

"...The easiest reference to be drawn here is to Boards of Canada, whose warm analogue tones and shapeshifting rhythms seem to have informed Werb's musical approach. But where that Scottish duo relies largely on samples for its base materials, the Vancouverite builds his tracks all by his lonesome, as evidenced by "Piano" and "Woodhands Theme Song", both of which are predicated on solo runs up and down the ivories. The best and most richly arranged song here is probably "Honest Broker", a kind of all-in-one album summation that distills the producer's brainiac lounge aesthetic into nine spellbinding minutes. If the Suicide Girls made porn movies, this would be their soundtrack."

"Woodhands is about tearing things down and starting over again, a notion that gives each number a layered richness. Werb somehow manages to peel back these layers in mid-composition, and each time the results reveal depths of sonic invention."

"Vancouver producer Dan Werb creates an adventurous aural excursion, armed with funky beats and an arsenal of keyboards. His able playing keeps songs moving in new and interesting directions...an idiosyncratic album that steers clear of trendy electronica traps, while staying grounded with solid grooves."