Bend Beyond is the seventh album by the American band Woods, released in September 2012 by Woodsist and Remote Control Records.
[3] Steven Hyden of Pitchfork Media gave the album a positive review, stating, "Fans of Woods' "spontaneous energy" might lament the relative straight-forwardness of Bend Beyond.
But Woods' greatest strength has always been songwriting, and sharpening the focus and cleaning up the production has only enhanced the band's welcoming melodies.
You can take away Woods’ undeniable chops and the trademark textures created by tape-effects wizard G. Lucas Crane, and Earl could still effectively elate listeners with the immediate infectiousness of a song like “Impossible Sky.” And, quickly moving from images of technicolor sunsets and evocations of the possibilities of youth, Earl closes on the haunting “Something Surreal,” where his unwavering, wordless falsetto brings the listener back to earth; the songs together run the gamut of human emotion in about five minutes.
"[9] Billy Hamilton of Drowned in Sound was more critical of the album and its cohesiveness, stating, "In hindsight, front-loading the record with Bend Beyond probably wasn’t the smartest of steps for a band refashioning its image.