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While the name might suggest a full-blown band, this self-titled debut from Prosser is largely a one man show. Eric Woodruff, formerly of Bellingham, Washington band Delay, has crafted a promising debut with his own two hands. Woodruff played most of the instruments, with some assistance from the likes of Dylan Rieck on cello, Paul Turpin on organ and Josh Haupt adding some additional guitar on “Summer Song 1.” He initially wrote and recorded most of the tracks in his basement, never thinking the sessions would result in an album of finely-tuned Guitar-Pop. As far as I can tell, Prosser, the name of the project, refers to a small farming and wine town in eastern Washington State. The name may have been chosen to reflect the earthy, alt-Country flavor of the album. Woodruff comes across somewhere between Ryan Adams and Elliott Smith with just a small hint of the Shins thrown in. “Prosser” is in the same laid back lo-fi style that Smith used to great effect.

 

Woodruff, now based in Seattle, enlists a full band when playing live to help the material translate to the stage. The band is a pretty constant fixture at various venues in the greater Seattle area, such as the High Dive and Tractor Tavern – they play to favorable reviews.

 

The standout track is “I Met A Girl,” with its journeying, on-the-road-again guitar and its yearning and honest lyrics. “Summer Song” is broken up into numbers one, two and three. This is once again reminiscent of Elliott Smith and his odd song titles. “Today” starts as a waltzing, laid back serenade before building to Guitar-Pop bliss. Prosser may not be the most original release in the world, but it is yet another really solid, promising and extremely catchy release from a Pacific Northwest artist.  Highly recommended.