Review: The Wood Brothers ‘Heart Is The Hero’

By Mike O’Cull

The Wood Brothers continue to evolve and expand their high-value roots music style on their eighth studio album Heart is the Hero.

Set to drop April 14th, 2023 thanks to Honey Jar/Thirty Tigers, Heart is the Hero is an acoustic-oriented album with an electric soul. Real-life siblings Chris Wood (bass, harmonica, vocals), Oliver Wood (guitar, vocals), and close friend Jano Rix (drums, percussion, shuitar, keyboards, vocals) are a Grammy-nominated creative force in the field of American music and actually enhance its traditions and ensure its future.

The three players co-produced the record with Brook Sutton, who also engineered, and the foursome captured their magic on 16-track tape right off of the floor at The Studio Nashville in Nashville, Tennessee. No computers were used to make this music and the band thrived inside the box of analog limitations. “We love records that come from the era of less tracks and more care,” said co-founder Oliver Wood. “When you use a computer during the tracking process, you have an infinite number of tracks at your disposal, which implies that nothing is permanent, and everything can be fixed. Tape gives you limitations that force you to be creative and intentional. You don’t look at the music on a screen; you listen to it, and you learn to focus on the feeling of the performance.”

The Wood Brothers have used their finely-honed songwriting chops, street-level storytelling skills, and tight instrumental work to become front-runners in the roots music scene. Originally from Boulder, Colorado, the brothers shared a love of the blues but pursued very different musical paths as they came of age. Oliver played in blues star Tinsley Ellis’ road band and also ran his own band, King Johnson, for 12 years. Chris studied jazz at the New England Conservatory of Music and co-founded legendary jazz/jam/fusion outfit Medeski Martin & Wood, a widely-acclaimed group that released 24 albums in 20 years. They began performing together in 2001.

The songs on Heart is the Hero are literate, unpretentious, and completely memorable. The opening track, “Pilgrim,” is an acoustic hip-shaker of the highest caliber that delivers a “stop and smell the roses” message that will no doubt resonate with the overworked masses of the world. Acoustic though it may be, it still riffs and grooves right proper, giving Oliver a chance to throw down some sweet vocals across the top.

“Pilgrim”

 
The title song, “The Heart Is The Hero,” is sanctified and semi-melancholy, coming across as a mid-life monologue from someone who has had more than a few profound experiences. The chorus hook of “The heart is humble, the heart is strong, the heart is the hero of every song” will lay you out flat the first time you hear it. The Brothers do a fine job of communicating the acceptance that age brings and the realizations that often follow.

“Far From Alone” is a tale of lessons about life learned from characters encountered while downing lonely beers in an anonymous bar. It’s a gentle, country/rock ballad with a distinctive bass line and more lyrics that penetrate directly to the heart. The idea that “you may be lonesome but you’re so far from alone” is comforting to those souls who feel the isolation of life passing by and will linger in your consciousness.

The progressive and relevant “Line Those Pockets” is an anti-capitalist call to value grace over greed set to a reggae-informed beat. The band’s chorus harmonies emphasize the fact that “everybody’s just trying to be happy” and their spacious arrangement gives their social intentions plenty of room to roam. It’s one of the record’s strongest moments and that’s saying something.

Each moment of Heart is the Hero is thoughtful, well-executed, and worthy of some serious listening time. The Wood Brothers have found a way to make American music without sounding like a history lesson and write songs that reflect the fears, hopes, and joys of everyday people. Their poetry is sonic as well as lyrical and will speak to you in ways you won’t anticipate. Put it on and leave it on.

Pre-order link for Heart Is The Hero see HERE