Mike Keneally "Wooden Smoke"

Mike Keneally's "Wooden Smoke" is not your typical "acoustic album" - there's a lot of interesting sounds happening, generated in some fairly unorthodox ways. Keneally states, "There are elaborate vocal arrangements on a number of songs, but the album is a little more than half instrumental. The music is a little hard to describe. It's mysterious, but intimate and inviting. It has a kind of plot, but you can't figure it out. It feels really warm, and I love listening to it - I hope you enjoy it too." Andy Partridge of XTC enthused, "When critics use the word 'mature' to describe somebody's music, it's usually code for 'old and boring.' Well, I'm wresting the word back to apply it in its proper sense to Mike Keneally's "Wooden Smoke": this album is strong, gentle and wise. Beautiful."