"Made of Wood is made up of only one man, Peabody-trained multi-instrumentalist Dan Waldman. On Birds of the State Fair, his second release under the flammable moniker, Waldman mines the same groovy crevices that underwrote the last Made of Wood album. This time, the focus is on blending “organic” instrumentation like piano and upright bass with electronic samples and beats. There’s almost no activity for which this album wouldn’t make a great score. In fact, it’s easy to see how the title track could fit right in with a stroll through a bustling carnival. The classically-trained Waldman has more than enough ingenuity to make the collection of 11 instrumentals engaging and cinematic. Right off, the marriage of piano and edgy beats on “Birds of the State Fair” pays dividends. It’s a dark, jazzy number that comes equipped with its own bokeh, filling the mind’s eye with imagination. The dense piano chords, captivating Wurlitzer organ and polyrhythmic funk rhythms are reminiscent of adventurous jazz-fusion outfits like Medeski Martin and Wood, Benevento/Russo Duo, and The Bad Plus, while the tasteful, musically-inclined electronic touches bring to mind forward-thinking instrumentalists like Jeff Bujak and Bibio. With this focus, Waldman joins a cavalcade of artists striving to find the world’s most potent combination of funk, jazz, and electronic music. What he’s got going for him are his singular nature and established knack for composing. The intelligence never drains out of the album during its 50-minute running time. Waldman never lets his interest in synthetic sounds devolve into mindless beatmongering. “Persistence” plays like an instrumentalist’s purest 21st century musical vision, where jazz tradition, lyrical musicianship, dark atmosphere, and machinery combine. The patient, sullen piano smacks of the moody style Trent Reznor employed in Nine Inch Nails, where the instrument’s 88 keys occupy the dramatic space that guitars or drums fear to tread. It’s a downtrodden trip-hop affair that displays Waldman’s diversity, and he proves adept at a wide range of styles throughout the album. “Distraction” combines whiffs of Latin jazz and hard bop with a flourish of electronic funk and more welcome Wurlitzer work. “Machines Come In, Men Go Out” similarly features subtle electronic accents embellishing a structure of shakers, congas, insistent upright bass, and restless piano melodies. Waldman approaches every tune with scholarly attention, particularly as far as the piano is concerned. There’s nary a dull moment to be heard, and fans of instrumental giants like Brad Mehldau, Bill Frisell, and Pat Metheney will likely find plenty to dissect here. Though there’s nothing on Birds of the State Fair that would conventionally be considered as falling into the category of ambient, lounge, or techno, Waldman does stretch plenty of boundaries. A brushy jazz beat and loads of electric piano keep the string-laden “Song for Test Unit 01” from careening into the opiate ether. There are plenty of mood-setting sound bites, such as the marijuana PSA that appropriately precedes the existential Eastern percussion, haunting strings, and psychedelic jazz keyboard riffing of “Your Blown Future.” “Electric Funk Break for Addy” and “Back Alley” are funk powerhouses, sporting plenty of chicka-bow guitar, bumping bass and snappy drumming." - Bryan Rodgers (Jul 27, 2011)