Audio By Carbonatix
Independent Journalism in Denver Needs You
We need to raise $25,000 by August 9 to support the reporting our community depends on. Reader support keeps us independent and is playing a larger role in funding local journalism and shaping what comes next. If you believe independent local journalism matters, make a contribution today.
Denver DIY queen Wendy Woo is hardworking and prolific; Luxury, whose release is being celebrated on Friday, March 23, at a Fox Theatre party opened by the Chris Webb Band, is Woo’s seventh CD since 1997. This time, however, the disc is credited to the Wendy Woo Trio as a way of marking the contributions of bassist Mitch DeZwarte and drummer Chris Maestas. That’s appropriate, since the recording’s best moments are those in which the players inject some toughness into their employer’s familiar sound.
There’s nothing particularly wrong with “Out of My Head Over You” or “Afraid of the Dark”; Woo has cut plenty of tunes like this before, and she’ll do so again. More interesting, though, are “Knowledge,” which sports a dramatic arrangement and impassioned vocals; “Luxury,” featuring memorable call-and-response background singing and a strong guitar solo; and “I Don’t Know,” a reggae rocker marked by something resembling edginess.
That’s the power of three.
