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Indeed, The Wood Brothers' sixth outing, 'One Drop of Truth,' dives
headfirst into a deep wellspring of sounds, styles and influences. Whereas
their previous outings have often followed a conceptual and sonic
through-line, here the long-standing trio featuring brothers Oliver and
Chris Wood along with Jano Rix treat each song as if it were its own short
film. The plaintive, country-folk of the album's opening track "River Takes
The Town" gives way to the The Band-esque Americana soul of "Happiness
Jones." The wistful ballad "Strange As It Seems" floats on a cloud of stream
of consciousness, standing in stark contrast to "Sky High"—a Saturday night
barnburner built upon stinging slide guitar funk. "Seasick Emotions" is rife
with turmoil, yet "Sparking Wine" is jaunty and carefree. The end result is
undeniably The Wood Brothers' most dynamic recording to date.
Building off the success of their previous studio album, 2015's 'Paradise,'
which was dubbed "the warmest, most sublime and occasionally rowdiest Wood
Brothers release yet," by American Songwriter, the band found themselves at
a fortuitous crossroads. Following a tour with Tedeschi Trucks Band,
high profile festival dates and sold out headline shows, the band felt free
from the cyclical album release, tour, write, record and
do-it-all-over-again pressures of the traditional music business. With all
three members living in Nashville affording easy access to each other and a
wealth of local independent studios at their disposal, they started work in
January of 2017 with a new approach.
"Instead of going into one studio and recording it all at the same time, we
picked a couple studios, and started to experiment," says Chris Wood.
"Sometimes we'd just make demos of songs to see if we got anything we liked.
There was no pressure, and that really freed us up. We just did one or two
songs a day, put it aside, let the songs simmer, and then we'd have a fresh
perspective on what was working or not working. You need time to go by to
gain objectivity."
The band extended this approach to the mixing process, sending tracks tofour
different mixing engineers, each selected based on what the song demanded.
Scotty Hard (who's worked extensively with Medeski Martin & Wood, among
others) was recruited for the "edgier, funkier tunes," "Sky High" and
"Happiness Jones." Mike Poole (who worked on The Wood Brothers album 'The
Muse') mixed "Sparkling Wine" and "Strange As It Seems." Their old friend
Brandon Belle from Zac Brown's studio Southern Ground took on "Laughin' Or
Crying." The remainder of the album was mixed by Grammy Award-winning
engineer Trina Shoemaker, especially sought after by The Wood Brothers for
her work with Brandi Carlile.
While the songs on 'One Drop of Truth' achieve the goal of standing on their
own, a few common themes did, inevitably, emerge. Water—whether in a
teardrop, a storm, a river or a libation—was being used as a metaphor in the
search for truth and happiness. Chris Wood's "Seasick Emotion," one of two
songs he sings on the collection serves as a prime example: "All the blue
sky is gone / How can I get out of bed / This hurricane in my head / I'm
just a boat in a storm / How can I know where to go / When everything that I
know / Is already lost in the wind." "That one was written last fall during
a hurricane, while at the same time the election was coming up, and there
was all this crazy energy in the world," Chris reveals. "I definitely got
swept away emotionally by everything that was going on."
Album opener, "River Takes the Town," takes on both figurative and literal
meaning. It was completed just as a series of hurricanes were decimating
parts of the U.S.: "It's been a few days since I heard any word from you /
and I don't sleep easy, I don't sleep easy / and the rain keeps comin', the
rain keeps comin' / nothin's ever for certain / 'til the levee breaks down /
the water comes in and the river / the river takes the town."
Though emotional struggle is a recurring thread, so is the comforting truth
of how much wisdom comes from the hard times. The song "Happiness Jones",
was based on a news article Oliver read about how our society is addicted to
happiness, antidepressants, and the distorted "happy" reality social media
can depict. As a result, people feel like it's unnatural to be sad, yet.
sadness can be a gift: "All of my wisdom came from all the toughest days / I
never learned a thing bein' happy / all of my sufferin' came / I didn't
appreciate it / I never learned a thing being happy."
Fittingly titled, 'One Drop of Truth,' the latest entry in The Wood Brothers
evolution finds three musicians being true to themselves. At a point in
their career where most artists would be looking to strategically position
themselves for even greater commercial success, they instead turned to
artistic expression in service of the muse. In chaotic times when honesty is
in short supply and ulterior motives seem to always be at play, The Wood
Brothers put faith in themselves and ultimately their audience by writing
and recording a collection of songs that is honest and pure. As they sing on
the album's title track: "Rather die hungry / than feasting on lies / Give
me one drop of truth / I cannot deny."
Live reviews
The Wood Brothers are as it says on the tin, actually brothers. The Americana and blues band is made up of Chris and Oliver Wood, as well as instrumentalist Jano Rix. I feel a bit sorry for Jano because he's not really a brother but maybe he seems like one to the band. The 2 brothers originally got into music because their father performed classic songs around the campfire, very American style sounding I'd say. Their mother was a poet, which must have helped with the song writing aspect of things. The brothers had different musical tastes and pursued their own paths for some time, 15 years in fact. Until the brothers performed a show together in North Carolina and the rest as they say was history. The brothers realised they should be playing music together so merged their musical talent from then on. They got a recording contract with the label Blue Note and released 'Ways Not To Lose' in 2006. The brothers don't really interest me in their music genre, I can tell they are talented but they are rather outdated in my opinion. I think the older generation who has some interest in the blues scene would be very entranced by them, but I think many of the younger generation, like myself would fail to be enthusiastic about their performance when they are on stage. It's nice to see this music being kept alive by people who have been performing most of their lives, but I wouldn't rush to see them as there's not a lot to their act in my eyes.
ehubb93
The Wood Brothers give concert attendees so much more soulful sound than it seems a 3-person band could! Their music played in a small venue like The State Theatre, State College, PA is outstanding. (I saw them ten years ago in a similar venue in Lancaster, PA too.) Their skills playing together have only improved, and the way they play off each other by ear, by feel, and add creative riffs and grooves to liven up their standby songs is delightful. Jano is an incredibly talented percussionist, Chris's bass, energy and spontaneous dancing are fun, and oh Oliver's voice and bluesy guitar--oh my (eyes flutter, heart beats, muse here available for his songs ha ha). They played the favorites, they played new songs, and opening act singer Kat Wright added a gorgeous vocal to one of The Wood Brothers best songs for an added treat. The energy was high the entire show. It ended too soon!
danielle-wolfe
If Marshall tucker band and the allman brothers band banged, got pregnant and had a band baby, but they got to choose who their band baby was, I think they’d pick the wood brothers. This band is classic cool, almost blue grass with that classic rock energy, and they’re only more authentic as musicians live. Listening to them yesterday was like sitting in a hot steaming bath of electric pink in the dark, and the water is steamy blue and purple, and you can just shake your head and close your eyes and say, fuck yes. With a face like Jesus and watching the way they play, their style and energy comes out like pulsing energy that screams like angels, almost scary it’s so beautiful. If you haven’t seen these guys live, you’re missing out on what music and true beauty and soul is all about. They rock my gypsie soul.
michellekarlsonstory
What a great show at the Fremont in San Louis Obispo! The drummer and bass player are phenomenal musicians and the lead singer voice is raw and very soulfull. Almost as reaching you in a way that only a person who has lived his lyrics can do in a live show. Felt very personal and jouful. A great band I will be seeing again in the future. The opening act was great with very sexy voice! I loved when they all sang and played around 1 old fashioned microphone as if traveling back in time. Overall a great experience with this band who played plenty of old stuff of theirs mixed with new stuff. The Fremont was great....even if they did have to confiscate our "bought outside" candy. ;-)
markDo
Absolutely love listening to The Wood Brothers! Their live show was above my expectations, played straight through with no set change. The sound was perfect, clear instrumentals, vocals, and overall volume was just right. They packed the house, possibly overpacked The Vogue. Extremely crowded, but even still I enjoyed every song The Wood Brothers shared by toe tapping away in my tiny space. Many thanks for the great music!
sk-70314588072446229
Third time seeing this trio, and what a show. Each member brings immense talent and presence. If you have the chance to see this group, it should not be missed. Bass play like you have never seen, a percussion display that is out of this world, and acoustic guitar and vocals that are second to none.
eriklasher
What a great show! The Wood Brothers are all fantastic musicians and they are great at putting unexpected, interesting musical moments in their songs. I wish them the best of luck on their tour. Amy Helm was also excellent, one of the best opening acts I’ve seen in a long time
nstamilio
FANTASTIC!!! I wanted to follow them from Buffalo to Cleveland. "Sing About It" was worth waiting for! We have never seen so much talent in one performance. The drummer was a multi-instrumentalist who mastered drums
and the keyboards at the same time. AWESOME!
Loberry3
Incredible show as always. Wood Brothers brings a true blues folk spirit and know how to keep a crowd entertained. Can’t wait for the next one.
Lincoln has excellent acoustics and plays well to the soul of this band. Perfect venue for this group.
EdL1012
