by Sheldon Birnie
Deep in the heart of the Canadian prairies, thousands of miles from the Mississippi River Delta or the Appalachian mountains, Ryan Boldt answers phone call from Stylus on a windy spring day. On a short break between tours, the principal singer and songwriter behind the Deep Dark Woods is enjoying the Stanley Cup Playoffs before heading deep into the States for another string of gigs.
“I’m pumped, I’ve been watching every game,” says the Oilers and Penguins fan. His primary playoff pool, heavy with Bruins and Blackhawks, is performing well. And while he’d like to see the Penguins, his “Eastern team,” go all the way, he’s doubtful Fleury’s goaltending can take them the distance. The upcoming tour dates throw a bit of a wrench is his playoff consumption, however. “I’m gonna miss lots of games. I hate going on tour during the playoffs.”
But with a (relatively) new and highly acclaimed album on their hands, the Deep Dark Woods have been touring relentlessly since Jubilee’s release in the autumn of 2013, logging miles and miles and miles across North America and Europe. The reception, according to critical evaluations online and Boldt’s own assessment, has been positive.
“It’s going over real well,” says Boldt. “People seem to like the album. But I don’t really pay attention all that much, I just play the songs and hope that people like the show.”
That concentration on the craft and performance of each song brings a quiet intensity to the music of the Deep Dark Woods, which includes Chris Mason, Lucas Goetz, Geoff Hilhorst, and new addition Clayton Linthicum. When the lyrical subject matter leans towards the classic folk tradition of murder ballads, broken dreams, and the tragedy of everyday life, it could be easy for a Deep Dark Woods gig to be a bit of a dour affair.
But that’s not the case. Sure, there’s not much fist-pumping in the crowd or wild, rowdy merrymaking. The sheer power of performance, the blizzard like intensity of their tunes, can be elevating experience, for those both on and off the stage. And the boys have been known to throw a barn-burner into the mix, here and there.
Jubilee, as an album, does a great job of showcasing these complementary aspects of the band’s sound, while expanding their repertoire with some of their strongest songwriting to date. And so it came at some surprise when Boldt explained that much of the record had been written in the few short weeks leading up to the recording sessions.
“There’s maybe three or four songs that I had done maybe a year before,” he says. “But the majority of them were done about three weeks or a month before we went into the studio.”
The recording itself was done in a different manner than the Deep Dark Woods had used in the past. Rather than worry about time and constantly be “watching the clock” in a studio setting, the band bought or rented all the equipment needed for a studio, and rented a cabin in Bragg Creek, Alberta. In the Beaver House, the band set up in much the same fashion as the Band recorded their Music from Big Pink and self-titled masterpieces, playing as live off the floor and in each other’s faces as the large cabin allowed. They also brought Jonathan Wilson on board as a producer.
“We met [Jonathan] at the Newport Folk Festival,” Boldt recalls. “We just got to talking and we thought it would be a good idea. Getting a younger guy to produce your record is nice. They’re all fresh and not worn out [chuckle]. He’s just totally into music, it’s not really a job for him at this point.”
Wilson, who has worked breakthrough albums for Dawes (Nothing is Wrong) and Father John Misty (Fear Fun), seems like a natural fit with the band. On Jubilee, the 13 brooding tales of whoring, violence, heartbreak, and loss are all allowed the room to unfold and breathe. The result is an album that is rooted in the vibe and tone of 2011’s brilliant The Place I Left Behind, but stands tall as a record that is a more fully developed piece of work.
And it’s no small wonder, after the hundreds and hundreds of shows these guys have played since they started out in Saskatoon almost ten years ago, and the well of folk music’s storytelling tradition they return to again and again.
“Bob Dylan’s kind of the guy who I love the most,” admits Boldt. “He’s made I don’t know how many records and most of them are amazing. And I love traditional music, like English and Irish, Scottish and American music, too. I just love the storytelling in those old traditional songs, murder ballads. Shirley Collins is a fantastic singer of those songs.”
But rather than just another folk act, the DDWs also tap hard into a tradition of heartbreak found in soul and blues music.
“I love Percy Sledge and Joe Simon. I love Dan Penn’s songwriting. They’re really simple songs, but there’s just so much soul involved in it. If somebody that had no soul sang those lyrics, you’d find them really cheesy. But the way Dan Penn writes them and Percy Sledge sings them, or Aretha Franklin sings them just blows you away. Then you’ve got blues singers like Fred McDowell and Mississippi John Hurt, those guys.”
And a potent mix of folk and blues traditions, heartbreak and longing, that makes Boldt & Co’s backwoods mash such a potent brew. A brew that’s perfect for sustaining one through the depths of an Canadian winter, or enjoying the bright, warm nights of a prairie summer. Be prepared to drink deep in Birds Hill, folks. It’s been a long time since these boys have been through our way, and you never know when the road will bring them back.
Do not miss the Deep Dark Woods at the Winnipeg Folk Fest this year. Ye have been warned, friend. If miss them ye do, you can catch them at Ness Creek, Calgary Folk Fest, and the Gateway Festival.