The extra “o” in Wooods stands for Lake O, the band has revealed. Not loudly revealed, mind you—Wooods are of the whisperpop movement, which plays as softly as possible, for audiences who are just as quiet. The band of the lake (Lake Olympus to its 18th century discoverers; “Lake O” to hordes of hikers since) is their favorite stage. Applause is signified by sign language; not even fingersnapping is allowed. “We don’t want to just evoke nature in our music,” leader Simon Magrey suggests. “We want to be a part of nature.”
As you may have guessed, flutes and whistles are involved, augmenting the breezes and birdcalls in the wilderness. But there are guitars too—homemade lyres, to be precise. Rocks and sticks provide percussion.
Wooods’ line-up changes like the seasons, but neither is the band a loose collective or community drum circle. Magrey, his romantic partner Pri Lincoln and their roommate Marc Rutherfurd are sustaining members in a band that can sometimes grow to eight members without ever getting loud. Lincoln was a champion birdcaller in high schooler, so she handles the vocals. “I think of them as lyrics,” she says. “It’s just not in a language we understand.”

Tonight: The Orijens at The Bullfinch with the “raw ukulele” act Uke-anuba… Spratt’s Solid Gold at Hamilton’s, a post-holiday dance party… An Evening With Essential Foods at D’ollaire’s, with the local duo AvoDerm (Sue Avon and Jim J. Dermott) opening. AvoDerm just got signed to an indie label in Wisconsin, while one-hit wonders Essential Foods have been label-less for a couple of years. One going up, the other heading down…