The Woolen Men are from Portland. They play punk influenced DIY music in the Pac-NW tradition of Dead Moon and the Wipers. More than a sound or style, that means a kind of work ethic — do-it-yourself and do it a lot. The band is happiest touring up and down the I-5 or bunkered in their practice space with the cassette 4-track rolling. And it shows. Live, the band is thunderous and energetic and the magnetic chemistry of the three of them playing together shines through in the recordings. This self-titled album released by Woodsist Records is their debut LP, following a handful of largely self-released EPs. Instead of changing their technique of recording fast and loose to capture the live energy of their sound, they recorded and recorded and recorded until they had enough songs to make up an album only of material with that elusive spark of a great recording. The ten tracks here represent five different sessions, and as many songs made the cut as were left behind. The LP was made to endure, with little attention payed to current trends or “in” sounds — what matters to the band is that the songs are well written and executed with integrity. The whole thing was recorded to analog. Raf Spielman, Woolen Mens lead singer, guitar player and part time drummer was born and raised on the West Coast. He is active in the fringe music community through his Eggy Records label, and has released music on the Night-People, Digitalis and Not Not Fun labels, among others with his solo project The Polyps. The Woolen Men have shared stages across the US with bands like Naomi Punk, Parquet Courts, Crystal Stilts, Woods, The Fresh and Onlys, etc. "The Woolen Men put out plenty of music on their own before hooking up with Woodsist for its forthcoming full-length self-titled debut. But if you didn't know any better, you'd swear they magically materialized from the spare parts of the label's other acts. With its quick count-off, clanging guitar, galloping drums, distant organ wheezing, and underwater vocals, The Woolen Men perhaps are a little more rock'n'roll than their labelmates, with singer Rafael Spielman affecting an impressive garage-dude drawl that contrasts with their effortlessly bounding drive song's " - Pitchfork http://woolenmen.bandcamp.com/ www.facebook.com/woolenmen