Woodhands is an electro-pop duo with a relentlessly energetic live-show and a total disdain for anything but balls-to-the-wall, dirty, sexy dance parties. The brainchild of Dan Werb (vocals, synths, drum machines) and Paul Banwatt (drums, vocals), Woodhands has garnered national press in Canada and was tagged as one of “5 Bands To Watch In 2008″ by Exclaim! Magazine.

Eschewing laptops or any pre-recorded samples, the Woodhands boys create the music from scratch just like old-fashioned rock bands, liberally swiping the swagger of glam and the raw energy of punk along the way. Instead, Woodhands create the music from scratch just like old-fashioned rock bands, and manage to steal some of the swagger of glam rock along the way. Armed with a decidedly un-ironic keytar, dirty analog synths and complex but danceable beats, Woodhands are hell-bent on connecting with their audience and getting the room bouncing. Combine that with an exuberant and nerd-infused sexiness, and it’s no wonder they’ve been dubbed, “the sex bomb Tom Jones was talking about… as close to a two-headed indie Timberlake as it gets.”

Woodhands began as Dan Werb’s solo bedroom recording project (culminating in a critically-acclaimed, self-released album in 2004), but after stints in Montreal, Vancouver (Werb’s hometown), and Paris, he moved to Toronto. He quickly became ensconced in Toronto’s fertile indie rock scene as a keyboard player in a number of indie rock bands, and in August 2006 he connected with ubiquitous drummer Paul Banwatt at a rock show. The pair were soon playing live together, their first show being at an illegal Halloween party in 2006, where they opened for Holy Fuck in the mud-filled and extremely condemned Don Valley Brickworks factory. This dangerous setting may have been the inspiration for their refusal to play shows with any kind of safety net (read:laptop).

Drive A Faster Car missed Woodhands at SXSW but they’re on the road all summer in support of their debut Paper Bag Records release, Heart Attack, out . Our NYC and Chicago readers can check them out soon (dates below). Of course, no Atlanta date at this time.

Check out some sweaty electro glory, *cough*, I mean, “I Wasn’t Made For Fighting” on imeem.