Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
What is Footwork but the belief that every soul can dance.
The urge to see your feet moving in time to a rhythm is universal, and even those who profess to dislike the frivolity of dancing, still enjoy the toes tapping as they accompany the mind in appreciating what they are hearing, what they are experiencing being played out before them.
To envision though an entire album built around the tradition of English step dancing, that is one premise that arguably might fall down and lack fierce companionship amongst even those searching for the novel and the unique; and yet as Lewis Wood takes on established thought wit earnestness and great gusto, so Footwork comes alive, the sensation of belief takes off, and by the end of the charming and forceful recording, what is revealed to the uninitiated is teamwork, even in the solo upward frolic, is the shape of fluidity, the rich and seamless variation that accompanies the music; an aural sculpture of demonstration.
Across tracks such as the opener The Third Wednesday, 10 Things To Do In August (Pts. 1-3), The Appreciated Violin, The Suspension Of Disbelief, and Trip To Middleton/Three Men In A Pink Stool, Lewis Wood’s debut recording is one of opportunity turned realisation, and with the addition of supporting feet adding a depth of colour to the proceedings from Melanie Barber, Toby Bennett, Lynette Eldon, Lisa Sture, and Simon and Jo Harmer, even the most staunchest of deniers will be smiling, beaming with positivity thanks to the unusual being granted a voice.
Footwork is an application of will over adversity and time, the vast majority of an audience will not have come across anything like it before, and that is all to Lewis Wood’s immediate favour, and one that keeps going long after the album returns to the shelf; for as with anything else that is unique to the listener’s soul, they keep returning to it, indeed are inspired by it.
An album of consideration, of pinpointed drama, and cool, genuine uninhibited belief. Lewis Wood reaches out and brings a novel approach to an art that deserves greater attention.
Ian D. Hall