To be totally honest with you, I have no idea how I discovered Sherwood.

I had their first album, Sing But Keep Going, in my CD binder for quite some time but never really gave the band a fair chance. That changed when I heard their sophomore release, A Different Light.

Sherwood, who all met at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Ca, are signed to Tom Anderson’s (of MySpace fame – yes, he is that guy who has like 300,000,000 friends, the ‘auto-friend’ guy when you set up an account) record label.

Aside from being a social networking guru, the guy also seems to have some great taste for music.

While sometimes described as ‘post-emo’, I couldn’t disagree more with that description. These guys are absolutely the upper echelon in the indie/pop-rock genre. Most of their songs do focus on love and relationships, etc. but they are all so incredibly catchy that whether or not you like that subject matter doesn’t even make a difference.

Think of it like this for those of you who listen to Alkaline Trio: Matt Skiba and company sing about some of the darkest subject matter out there (Sherwood does not, FYI), yet their songs are so poppy and catchy that if you just zone out and don’t listen to the lyrics, it completely escapes you.

A lot of the times Amazon reviewers are way way off base (no offense) in their rating system…I mean, you get 1 star reviews because the item didn’t arrive by the date promised, and 5 star reviews from people who think so-and-so is just soooo hot. Seriously?!

Regardless, getting back on track, the point here is that this CD has 5/5 stars on Amazon as the average rating. Congratulations reviewers, you got this one right.

Aside from their two full lengths, they also recorded an acoustic version of ‘The Only Song’ for Punk Goes Acoustic Volume 2. I don’t think they fit the punk label at all, but they did record a great version of that song, so it worked out in the end.

Possibly the best song on the cd, ‘For the Longest Time’ is about being head over heels for someone, waiting for them to come around and give you a chance. But you just can’t get to them and it eats at you because deep down its really the only thing you want to do.

‘Middle of the Night’ is about someone who has a significant other but you are really into them and don’t know what to do; as referenced by the line:

He’s going
Outside in the middle of the night with you
Now tell me what I’m supposed to do

Another line in the song ‘Never Ready to Leave’ (about the end of a relationship and while the physical has ended, he hasn’t let go of the emotional part) has another extremely relate-able line for anyone at this same crossroads:

And I’ll tell you the worst part
You’re exactly the way I thought you would be
So I’ll stay for the last call
‘Cause I’d move away but I’m never ready to leave

Those are songs that I can relate to all too well. But really – for better or worse – those are the best kind to most people: the ones that strike a personal chord (excuse the play on words).

All in all, anyone who loves the kind of songs and hooks that you just can’t help to sing along to will love Sherwood. Check ‘em out!

Buy Sing But Keep Going, A Different Light, and Punk Goes Acoustic Volume 2 from iTunes here:

Or, if you prefer to shop at Amazon, check out their discography in CD and MP3 format: Sherwood

Check out their official video for ‘The Only Song’ here:

All photos, music, and videos copyright of their respective owners. Used only for promotional purposes and to gain notoriety for the artists featured.

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