Last month Owen Pallett wowed us with an unexpected name change and some fancy multi-instrumentation. This month, X3 artist of the month Woodhands have given us drum pounding, synth heavy, keytar biting electro pop that gets bodies moving in the living room or on the dance floor at one of their shows.

Last week the duo comprising of Paul Banwatt on drums and Dan Werb on keytar/synths/vocals, performed during an invite only party at The Smiling Buddha in Toronto. Amidst the foggy set up with crazy green lasers imported from China, Banwatt and Werb played material from their just released second album, Remorsecapade and 2008’s Heart Attack. Despite this being one of the first times they have played some of their new songs live, evident by some of the stop starts, Woodhands delivered one of the most body shaking 20 minute sets in recent memory. Things got ever more interesting when guest vocalist Maylee Todd joined Woodhands on stage for “Dissembler” and “Dancer.”

Before Woodhands, Banwatt and Werb met through their membership in the band Henri Faberge and the Adorables, whom Todd is also apart of. They started playing together and immediately developed on stage chemistry. “We allow ourselves to go off on tangents musically, there’s a lot of communication,” Werb said in an interview. “I think that a lot of the response that people have given us has been about that relationship, about how rewarding it is to see performers interacting like that instead of just like four dudes on stage.”

Proving themselves worthy time and time again on the stage, Woodhands signed with Paper Bag Records and began preparing tracks for their debut Heart Attack. The album featured rock style electronic music with ferocious live drumming Banwatt said isn’t very common in other electronic acts. “Electronic music composers are the ones programming beats but they’re often not drummers,” Banwatt told Eye Weekly. “I’ve always tried to rid myself of what I’m supposed to be doing.” The band’s dislike for using laptops and pre-programmed sequencing make the experience listening almost seem like a live set.

Speaking about the first track off the album “Dancer,” Werb said he was watching a techno DJ with a former band member on Vancouver Island and “I started screaming at her in this faux-German accent, ‘You’re a very good dancer, what is your name, what is your name’ and like dancing European-ly around her. To the point where dudes were like, ‘Is this guy bothering you?’ She was… embarrassed. Which she had a right to be.”

Since releasing Heart Attack and touring North America, China and Japan, the band has received dozens of accolades for their live performances including being called one of the 10 best bands on Earth by Q Magazine.

Last week the duo released their sophomore album, Remorsecapade, and it is every bit as danceable as their first. Speaking with Exclaim! about the lyrics on the album, Werb said “A lot of this record was not so much based on my own personal experiences. Because I can only write about one subject, I was trying to figure out ways to write about that in different ways.” They’ve also released a video for the track “CP24” that takes a jab at Toronto’s 24-hour news service. “[The video] is sort of like a parallel universe where my tendency to be an emotional exhibitionist has become a very negative concern,” Werb told Spinner. “Woodhands is a way for me to sensationalize my emotions in a really positive way. If I didn’t have this kind of outlet in my life, the crazy ways I would react to things if I wasn’t able to write songs about them…”

This month, the band will begin a Canadian tour starting with Hillside Inside in Guelph. They stop in Toronto for Canadian Music Week to play a show with k-os at the Opera House.

CBC Radio 3 will be playing Woodhands all month, and Exclaim! has an exclusive interview with the duo.

Woodhands Tour Dates

Feb. 6 – Hillside Inside, Guelph

Feb. 20 – Biltmore, Vancouver

Feb. 24 – Pawn Show, Edmonton

Feb. 25 – Broken City, Calgary

Feb. 27 – Lo Pub, Winnipeg

Mar. 2 – Phog Lounge, Windsor

Mar. 4 – Level 3, St. Catharines

Mar. 5 – Moon Over Marin – London

Mar. 6 – This Ain’t Hollywood – Hamilton

Mar 11 – Opera House – Toronto

Apr. 6 – Red Dog – Peterborough

Apr. 8 – Mavericks – Ottawa

Apr. 9 – Le Cercle – Quebec City

Apr. 10 – Club Lambi – Montreal