| "Woodeneye" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byCardiacs | ||||
| from the albumLSD | ||||
| Released | 1 August 2025 (2025-08-01) | |||
| Genre | Psychedelic rock | |||
| Length | 3:19 | |||
| Label | Alphabet Business Concern | |||
| Songwriter | Tim Smith | |||
| Producers |
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| Cardiacs singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Woodeneye" onYouTube | ||||
"Woodeneye"[a] is a song by the British bandCardiacs from their albumLSD (2025). It was written and co-produced by the bandleader of Cardiacs,Tim Smith, who died in 2020. Work onLSD continued after Smith's illness and death, and the Alphabet Business Concern released "Woodeneye" on 1 August 2025 as the album's first single in a series of three before the album's release.
Apsychedelic rock song, "Woodeneye" features vocals byMike Vennart,Rose Kemp and the rest of the band in achoral effect, withpunk style guitars. Critics praised the song for its energy, complex composition, and familiarity withCardiacs' discography. The song was first played in the United Kingdom theBBC Radio 6 Music programmeRiley &Coe on 31 July and a video for the single was shared by the band.
Cardiacs, acult-beloved British band, released their then-most recent albumGuns in 1999.[3] In 2008, Cardiacs bandleaderTim Smith almost finished a double album titledLSD and was about to release the first in a series of singles from it when he collapsed in London, suffering a series ofstrokes that left him with the conditiondystonia. Unable to speak and with limited movement, Smith needed constant full time care. Until his death in 2020, a support system made up of creatives and carers enabled him to slowly reemerge by attending concerts arranged for him, visiting his home studio and directing others to work on his unreleasedSea Nymphs album as well as much work onLSD, including bringing in new vocalists to add the voice he had lost.[4] Thelead single ofLSD was supposed to be "Ditzy Scene", which came out in 2007, before the album's release was delayed. After Smith's illness death, Cardiacs released anotherLSD song, "Vermin Mangle", and Tim's brother and bandmateJim Smith later said that Cardiacs kept working onLSD.[3] Along with the determination to finish his work, the Cardiacs fan base had grown exponentially since Tim's death.[4]
"Woodeneye" was written and co-produced by Tim Smith.[3] Following aYouTube broadcast of a Cardiacs concert filmed at London'sTown and Country Club in 1988, Cardiacs announced "Woodeneye" as a new single from the forthcoming albumLSD, with the announcement appearing on screen at the end.[5] "Woodeneye" was first played in the United Kingdom onBBC Radio 6 Music's programmeRiley &Coe on 31 July 2025,[2] and was released by the Alphabet Business Concern on 1 August 2025 as the first of three singles before the release ofLSD, their final album, in September.[6][7] The band also shared a video for the single,[7] a visualiser created by Mike Bourne.[1]
"Woodeneye" is three minutes and 19 seconds long.[1][8] It features theEmpire State Bastard and formerOceansize musicianMike Vennart, who took over as lead singer, and also contains vocal contributions fromRose Kemp (or Rose-Ellen Kemp) and the rest of the band which includes Jim Smith, their longtime bandmateKavus Torabi, andBob Leith who plays drums.[7][6][3] According toOrgan, the single's vocalists are a hint of the work from the 2020s to save Tim's vision for the album.[4] Adam Noble mixed the song, and Frank Arkwrightmastered it atAbbey Road Studios.[7]
Musically, "Woodeneye" is apsychedelic rock song, whichStereogum's Tom Breihan described as a "frantic psychedelic rock attack".[3] According to Sean Kitching ofThe Quietus, "Woodeneye" features "propulsive,punky guitars", a symphonicchoral effect, and guitar soloing from Torabi who contributed arrangements toLSD.[6]Organ drew comparison tonew wave music, calling it "crisp and new wavey",[4] while Breihan said that it "resists categorization".[3]
Breihan called "Woodeneye" "a wild piece of music", which he said meant "it fits right in with the rest ofCardiacs' discography".[3] Sean Worrall ofOrgan opined that "Woodeneye" "comes at [the listener] with a freshness and directness that might surprise those who’d only read about how complex and weird and ‘'difficult' and obtuse Cardiacs were," but that the song "doesn’t surprise anyone familiar with them." Worrall also said the song "fizzes with energy, a triumphant, lively blast, a blast of life", calling it "somehow timeless, instantly stimulating to dance, mosh, pogo, whatever until it goes off and things and becomes utterly, unstoppably Cardiacs in nature."[4] Kitching included "Woodeneye" inThe Quietus' list of the best albums and tracks of July 2025, calling it a "classic Cardiacs banger" and "an enticing entrée for the main course soon to come, but one that only hints at the diversity of the delights to follow".[6]BrooklynVegan said the song "finds Cardiacs sounding as chaotic as ever".[9]
Credited adapted fromBandcamp.[1]Apple Music does not credit Jim and instead credits Tim Smith for bass guitar, electric guitar and vocals.[8]
Technical
| Chart (2025) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Sales (OCC)[10] | 56 |
| UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[11] | 54 |
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