Customer Reviews

Ten Stones

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Music: On this Woven Hand outing the music is slightly changed. This release resembles David Eugene Edwards former band Sixteen Horsepower more so than any other Woven Hand record. There are fewer drones and more straight up instrumentation. This is not a bad thing though. The music on Ten Stones is good. It has more of a rock sound than previous albums. This probably because it was recorded live in the studio.

Vocals: David Eugene Edwards vocals are as haunting as ever. That tortured soul sound is still there. There always seems to be a sadness in his singing.

Lyrics: Biblical imagery abounds as usual. DEE paints pictures with his words. In "The Beautiful Axe" he says "joy has come/it rises with the son/He the highest on the horizon". And in "Not One Stone" he wails "behold the lamb/behold the lamb/given for us/made curse for us".

Packaging: Digi-pack with lyrics included. Nice packaging as usual.

Conclusion: This is a great record. Woven Hands music is unlike anything else out there. And that is a good thing in this day and age. I highly recommend this record. If you like music that sounds like a rock band decided to use instruments from the Appalachian mountains you will like this. Stand out tracks- "The Beautiful Axe","Horsetail","Not One Stone","White Knuckle Grip","Kingdom Of Ice".

Don't let the title of this review mislead you, I love David Eugene Edwards work as both Woven Hand and 16 Horsepower. With his self-titled debut as Woven Hand, DEE set a precedent for combining the hillbilly twang from 16 Horsepower and introducing some newer underlying layers of sounds. His next two formal releases tended to explore more of the layers and abstract, especially with Mosiac, creating an album that is hard to digest apart from listening as a whole. Still, they were brilliant in their own respect. With Ten Stones, David has returned to the 'rock' element that was found on both the self-titled and 16 horsepower's swan song, "Secret South".

This release and Shearwater's 'Rooks' will definitely battling it out for top album of 2008 on my list.

Took several listens, but I now consider TEN STONES my favorite Wovenhand album. Always-fascinating lyrics; great and powerful music.

After the murky Mosaic, Dave Eugene Edwards went on a different direction, a more powerful raw sound, closer to 16 Horsepower than any other record he released as Woven Hand. Good bunch of songs "Beautiful Axe" and "Kingdom of ice" and the version of "Quiet night of quiet stars" are among the best.

Another great album from David Eugene Edwards and Wovenhand. With a harder edge to it, this album is more "16 Horsepower-like" than prevous Wovenhand titles. It also makes for a great rocking (and loud) live show. Support DEE so he can continue to make records. Buy this disc . . . now!

This album is the only place where Rock n' Roll still survives. The record seems at first like a departure from Woven Hand's previous direction, but the experience deepens with every listen and soon you begin to understand how truly crucial this recording is.