"so here's where I'll be raising my kids if I can find someone to start a family with..."
"Tomcat Disposables" by the enigmatic singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, composer, filmmaker Will Wood, is a beautiful trip of a song. I might even refer to it as hallucinogenic though I have never partaken. Will is the kind of talented composer who does not reign himself in by any particular genre or trope (indie or otherwise) of the day. He follows where ever his fertile fluid artistic feelings take him delving into divergent sides of folk, pop, jazz and experimental iterations of all those genres sometimes all at once with lyrics that turn and spin your brain. It is a wonderful thing because his music disarms you.
When listening to the rapid musical narrative of "Tomcat Disposables", which might be described as folk chamber pop (though any description will fall short), I am taken aback at how much is going on. If stripped down to the acoustic ukulele alone it feels folk but with the energy of a fiery Andalusian-esque torch song. Add the massive orchestration and jammy percussion (the drums absolutely rock) and you feel a kind of almost indie rock, baroque pop thing happening infused with a loving dose of 50's Rodgers and Hammerstein-isms. Not to mention that Will's intensity is total punk, go ahead and try to argue this point with me, you will not win. Amazingly (Press notes indicate that) Will arranged the orchestrations here. Phenomenal.
I think I mentioned that "Tomcat Disposable" is rapid fire and it is, as are the lyrical melodies. You might have to listen multiple times to catch everything that Will drops. I love the acerbic quips that I can hear and love the broad theatricality that he gives to his vocal countenance because you can feel the smiles and the winks. There is even this undefinable quality that makes you feel like a child listening to a grand story. I can't explain it.
"Tomcat Disposables" is from Will Wood's anticipated album "In Case I Make It" due to drop this summer (2022) and about this song he shares:
“I have a weird affinity for pests. Oddly relatable. They don’t mean to harm anyone, but they spread disease and leave most of us figuring they should probably die. During the winter of the pandemic, I walked into my wrecked kitchen to find a mouse trying to drag a big parmesan rind into a gap behind the oven, all bug-eyed and bird-footed. He ran away when he saw me, so I broke the cheese into smaller pieces, figuring it was cold out and he could use a hand. New friend.
But I learned his particular species carry some particularly deadly diseases, so despite desperately wanting not to, I gave in and accepted some poison traps from my landlord. They worked, and then I spent a couple days bleaching everything and losing my marbles.
It’s sick. You make the mouse think he’s found an enormous supply of food in his warm new shelter. He eats it, full of hope and gratitude, then it’s curtains. I knew the “humane” traps would have just let the winter air kill him and do so slower, but I pulled an awful little trick on my friend. In hindsight maybe I also found falling for that trick oddly relatable.
I wrote this song as a sort of tribute. I’m embarrassingly proud of the fact that I did all the orchestration for it – it’s my first time arranging such a large band. I hope the song honors my friend well. Sorry, mouse.” - WW
But I learned his particular species carry some particularly deadly diseases, so despite desperately wanting not to, I gave in and accepted some poison traps from my landlord. They worked, and then I spent a couple days bleaching everything and losing my marbles.
It’s sick. You make the mouse think he’s found an enormous supply of food in his warm new shelter. He eats it, full of hope and gratitude, then it’s curtains. I knew the “humane” traps would have just let the winter air kill him and do so slower, but I pulled an awful little trick on my friend. In hindsight maybe I also found falling for that trick oddly relatable.
I wrote this song as a sort of tribute. I’m embarrassingly proud of the fact that I did all the orchestration for it – it’s my first time arranging such a large band. I hope the song honors my friend well. Sorry, mouse.” - WW
Oh, and I truly hope there is "cheese in the great beyond" and now after knowing the full story that informs "Tomcat Disposables" I will gleefully (with my little note pad) find the lyric gems and write them down.
This wonderful song features: Will Wood (Vocals, Baritone Ukulele, Keyboards, Percussion), Matt Berger (Alto Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet), Vater Boris (Bass), Mike Bottiglieri (Guitar), Mario Conte (Drums, Percussion) and Yoed Nir (Strings).
The Official Video was written, directed and edited by Will Wood and Ivan Fisher-Owen. Engineered, built and animated by Ivan Fisher-Owen of Beyond the Bark. Post FX and digital animation by Will Wood. Original Illustrations by Spectoron.
-Robb Donker Curtius
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THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://www.willwood.net/
Little is known about the real Will Wood, and his public image has often been the subject of strange myths, misinformation, and misconceptions. Wood has a disdain both personal and ideological for all platforms of social media and its culture and does not shy away from making these views public. Unlike many artists in this era, Wood makes the fact that he doesn’t operate any social media accounts clear, openly resisting the way artists are expected to self-promote.
A fan favorite, Wood currently has over 800k monthly listeners on Spotify with 125k fanatical followers who are hungry to hear anything the artist has to publish and release.
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Will Wood, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, filmmaker, upcoming album "In Case I Make It", divergent, folk, pop, jazz, indie rock, art pop, experimental music, "Tomcat Disposables", chamber pop, pop indie,
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