"Local band Redwood Thinkers are a 5 piece outfit, 3 vocals and several changes of guitar. This band have a variety of sounds going on, full of bright melodies and well placed harmonies. A satisfying band."
Surface Unsigned Festival 2008 Review
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" Known for their melodic, acoustic folk rock with great vocal harmonies and truly original song writing, the Redwood Thinkers energetic yet calm performances are well worth catching live. "
Sandman Magazine - February 2008
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"First 'proper' band onstage where the Redwood Thinkers from Leeds who played their highly memorable, hook laden acoustic based music with confidence and where a great opener for the event, nice people, great music, sublime harmonies well worth seeing in either electric band format or acoustic. They deserve to be massive!"
Music H.Q - Hull Mela
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" The Redwood Thinkers had made a lot of progress since their first ever gig in October; they were tighter, louder, better. Their soulful and satisfying vocals were a perfect dose of sunday recovery."
No Title magazine - Riot@The Old Police Station
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" The Redwood Thinkers hail from Leeds and return for their second Acoustic Wednesday gig after playing a simply storming gig earlier in the year, with a unique sound, upright bass, two guitar, great harmony vocals and some brilliant songs "
Music HQ - Tiger's Lair
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" Redwood Thinkers – Leeds based four piece band. The band first played our St Pat's Night special last year, tonight saw them make a return trip over the hills. Their song on the acousticfest mp3 had 420 plays in the space of two weeks so I was really looking forward to seeing them play live. What do you get from three-piece perfect harmonies? – Redwood of course! Not afraid to use their voices as instruments by themselves. The aptly dressed batman superhero on bongos gave the band an added dimension. I think the band enjoyed themselves as much as the audience "
Tony Hennigan - M19 Acoustic Festival
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“ Hello to lilting lovelies Redwood Thinkers playing acoustic islands of calm and plaintive thoughts in rich tones. Smoothly-textured, ringing chords ebb and flow from their guitars, the singer's candlelight voice casting a comforting glow of softly smoking incense across the room. A little too mellow for sure, but with unexpected turns of slightly bitter, slightly resentful complaints nudging their way in as they question "What if I forgot your birthday, what if I forgot your name?" Dealing in personal, personable and down-to-earth everyman's storytelling, Redwood Thinkers daub a wash of homely yellow ochre over everything and invite you to consider everyday realities with an accepting eye…”
Lauren Strain - Leeds music Scene
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" Excellent sets from Working Men's Club, The Redwood Thinkers, Fran Rodgers and Ben Wetherill gave the day a wonderfully eclectic feel with a broad range of styles and instruments. The Redwood Thinkers (a brilliant two-guitar acoustic duo who are obviously incredibly well-rehearsed) were even kind enough to hand out free CDs after their set, which was a nice touch..."
The Independent Music Festival - Junctions Bar
Fur Nights/Lifesize!/ Bonus Grooves Promotions
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" Saturday 17th September - The Vine is always a good venue and Jinsena are always a very good band. So tonight was a very good show. As for the other 2 bands, i cant remember the name of the first one but they were good. And the Redwood Thinkers..........very relaxing ".
The 'Goldfever' - Local Leeds Band - @ ' The Vine '
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Acoustic Album Review:
"An easy on-the-ear acoustic/folk band from the North-West UK. Well, I say 'band' as the appearance of other musicians apart from acoustic guitar & vocals are infrequent and fairly low key. This is not a criticism or hindrance because deep at the heart of Redwood Thinkers are the supremely compatible, tight and dovetailed vocals of singers Darren Cummings and Kezia Wilkinson who bring a fat slice of Beautiful South styling to their soft and comfortable tunes. Its the effortless quality of these vocals that carry the songs and with such symbiosis they could probably sing the phone book to a metronome and you wouldn't notice, highlighted perfectly on tracks 'May we be forgiven' and 'Fade so simple'.
The tracks rarely venture from the slow and dreamy and I did start wondering how it would feel if Redwood Thinkers did tear it up, just a bit (as Beautiful South could do) but its not in their make up. They are definitely in their happy place, within their warm and fuzzy folk tunes that give a shop window to the vocals, despite it often reducing the other band members to almost bit players.
So I'm sitting back with my large mug of steaming coffee marvelling at the soaring, perfectly harmonising vocals and think 'yup, an easy 5 out of 6 for these guys'...
Review by Drumhead
RANK: ***** 5 out of 6
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"For those of you who aren't into yoghurt, rustic houmous, tie-dye and digging tunnels under proposed runways - Redwoods (or Sequoidendron Gigantum) are bloody massive towers of bark and twig. Found mainly in California they are known for their utter majesty, and in the case of hyperion (yep - they gave it a name), for being the tallest tree in the world (115 metres). For those of you who aren't into beliefs or feelings (shoot yourself now) - thinkers are people who devote time and meditation to achieving de facto thoughts: whether they think outside the box (as everyone does nowadays) or inside (like a true innovator)."
"For those of you who aren't into folk rock, acoustic meanderings and awkward, whispered emotions - Redwood Thinkers are found mainly in Leeds (probably in Meanwood). Their monkier reflects their organic calmness and consideration of this planet. Like the aforementioned tree's crown their sound is conical, with horizontal to slightly drooping branches of melody and anguish. Their tannin-rich resonance is thickly knotted, yet simultaneously soft and fiberous (like a whimpering statoilithic mucigel). Their root system is composed of vascular, wide spreading roots which are shallow yet lateral. Songs about pain (CHECK) Softly spoken vocals (CHECK). Minimal acoustic guitar (CHECK). Like Counting Crows and Del Amitri they positively spew sonic sensibility, but there's a few shoots of Fleetwood Mac poking through the permafrost to give us hope for harvest."
"Like trees they are strong, safe and unthreatening. Like thinkers they are contemplative, deep and full of wonderous ponderings. They give us love stories wrapped up in the end of the world (Falling Down) and tales of falling in love on MSN Messenger (Chasing Chimera). They shed folksy melancholy and gutsy blues like a deciduous in Autumn. The band's debut album is a pot pourri of seeds and saplings, each initially germinated and nurtured by a different band member, yet ultimately lovingly nourished and raised by all five."
"In essence it's more American than British, in both intonation and ethos. It isn't fashionable music nut then you get the impression that being a fashionable band was never high on the agenda. This isn't loud. This isn't vitriolic. It's respite. It's warmth. It's sleepy. It's a passenger-side airbag. It's an ethnic purse made out of Alpaca hair. It's tea at your Gran's house on a rainy Sunday. People who bought this also bought vintage books, cleaning products, brown corduroy cushions, joss sticks, Fair-Trade pistachio nuts and phone insurance. People who bought this have proper jobs and steady long-term partners and probably wear bicycle clips to keep their 'slacks' clean when trawling round car boot sales and organic markets. People who bought this don't go to gyms, get in fights or wank all their wages up the wall on cocaine. They are uber-pleasant, and nauseatingly nice. All of which of course has nothing to do with the music, but you get the gist."
"In 2008 the band wants to record more and play bigger gigs. I get the impression, as with the broader environmental issues facing the world that it's make or break time for the Redwood Thinkers. Next year they will either grow taller than Hyperion or you'll find them lining the floor of your hamster's cage."
NO Title Magazine Dec 2008 - Words - Ewan Jamieson
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"Imagine if you will, you're at a party and the guitars come out. As usual it's time to bite your tongue, try and close your ears and just clap along at the end. Only this time the singers harmonize and the guitars are played the way you always dreamt you could. This is what it must be like when the Redwood Thinkers come round."
"Folk Rock without the usual pretension, and if your first thoughts of Folk music are full of hey-nonny-nonny's and organic cider drinkers with beards then it's time for a second impression. Think Bob Dylan, Fleetwood Mac, Barenaked Ladies, Counting Crows, The Beautiful South, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, even R.E.M all in a big bowl and your getting closer. While you're at it check out the Celtic Folk Rock offerings of bands like The Peatbog Faeries, Croft No.5 and the superb latino/celtic Salsa Celtica"
Two Track CD: Falling Down / Fade So Simple
" Falling Down is wistful without ever being truly melancholy. A love-lost story set against the troubles of life today. Unhurried, light and airy, the song is stylistically very simple, but works well for it. Just right for those sunny sunday mornings when life is free of complication."
"Fade So Simple is, to my mind, the stronger of the two tracks. A full bodied taste of The Cranberries underlies this love letter of a song. The writing can't be faulted and the harmonization between vocals lifts the song and the heart. It readily invites you to to be drawn along and forget your own troubles for all of its four minutes and eighteen seconds and fair time afterwards. A song to hold someone close to."
"Add their considerable musical virtues to an on-stage charisma that makes you want to get up and join in and an obvious friendship and easy humour reminiscent of The Barnaked Ladies and you have an outfit well worth watching out for.
If, sorry, when you go see them, take your partner as The Redwood Thinkers make perfect end, or begining, to a perfect evening"
Chris Thomas - Phonographic Ramblings
Read the full review here
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" The band’s debut album, ' The Redwood Thinkers', is a varied group of songs, each one the baby of an individual band member lovingly brought up by all three. Particular highlights include the Kezia vocal on Lunatic In A Dressing Gown, which puts one in mind of Lisa Loeb, and Darren’s intense Open Your Eyes.
There is the odd song that might have been a little shorter and snappier, but the album as a whole is a very satisfying listen, with bright melodies and often dark subject matter seamlessly blended into a first album to be proud of."
Chris Wright - The Chris Wright Radio Show -
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