Ourstage – Review

Big thanks to Kate B  for the excellent reivew on Ourstage

Most bands have an m.o., whether it’s simply the love of making music or the dream of power and influence. For Jessie Murphy In The Woods, the drive comes from Murphy’s desire to recapture a perfect autumnal moment from her childhood. And that desire has yielded songs that are literate, bright and haunting. The group is comprised of Murphy, Marcia Wood, and Amy Wood—all music teachers. Between the three you get a quixotic assemblage of woodwinds and brass, percussion and strings. There’s an economy to JMITW’s chamber pop arrangements that gives each idea its own space. “God Save Owen Wilson” is as funny as it is sad—the somber flutter of flute and a baleful horn in the distance juxtapose whimsically with a mock-heroic refrain about, well, Owen Wilson. The vibe is Sufjan Stevens in heels. “New York City Lights,” on the other hand, is folksy romanticism, sung without affectation. The orchestral, theatrical “In The Woods” tries to conjure the faintest whiff of that perfect autumn day, invoking the “virgin forest” with urgency. Even if the moment is forever out of reach, the music that’s produced in its wake is worth the loss.