Dark, erotic, dreamy-style referred to as Appalachian Gothic by No Depression Magazine.

12 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Americana, ROCK: Goth



Details:
Raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, Leslie grew up with music. Her father and grandfather both played guitar and sang in the old mountain style and her mother sang bawdy honky tonk songs during the long trips they made to Louisiana where they spent a good deal of their summers. Somewhere along the way the sleepily swaying car, the sultry heat of Louisiana and the murder ballads all bled together in Woods' mind.

Listeners are often at a loss to categorize her haunting and erotic music, more often finding comparisons in film and literature. Leslie's songs draw on the rich tradition of southern gothic writing. The moniker, "Appalachian Gothic" is more a reference to Flannery O'Connor than music.

The songs that make up The Luxury of Sin are glimpses into a soul so adeptly rendered that they work on the level of film noir. The tales are painted vividly but never in clear view. Though Leslie's strong and breathy vocals are center stage throughout the record, it is her band Dark Mountain Orchid that seals the deal. Pulling from nearly every American musical tradition, they seamlessly weave rock, country, bluegrass, folk and jazz in a way that works effortlessly and is never trite of self-indulgent. Like a stage production, with the band filling the roles of orchestra, set and chorus, The Luxury of Sin is a dramatic statement ready for the curtain to rise.


"Listening to Leslie Woods second album Luxury of Sin is akin to being an unseen witness as some horrendous crime unfolds. With each track you're left with the feeling that you've been handed another clue to solving the mystery without ever getting the key to revealing all. If there is an album with a more startling opening song than Train then it's being kept well hidden. Anyone who says music can't send a shiver down your spine hasn't listened to Luxury Of Sin yet." Michael Mee, Americana UK