Since their formation, the Wood Brothers have produced some of the most eclectic and vibrant music on the Americana scene. In addition, they have taken it on the road with energetic and entertaining live shows. Their reputation will only continue to grow with the release of “Heart is a Hero”. The band’s eighth studio album is a more acoustic affair, but cuts no corners as far as energy goes. The band also went with a more sparse methodology in the studio. The idea was to capture the energy of their live shows. To do this they threw out the computers (who needs Pro Tools anyway) and recorded the album analog to 16 track tape. Not only is the album a triumph of music and melody, but it is a lyrical success as well. The songwriting is deep and thoughtful.
As always their music is hard to label and provides a wide point of entry. The album opens with the song “Pilgrim”, which encourages the listener not to just breeze through life’s journey but to partake of life at a transcendent level. “I better slow down because the soul can’t travel that fast”. Oliver Wood reminds us that we don’t need to out race our souls if we are going to engage with life. The song has a funky undercurrent that will get your hips shaking while traveling along the path. One of the more conceptually beautiful songs is the slow meandering “Between the Beats”. It is trying to get the listener to focus on the moment between the beats of the heart and provides a great message. In fact, I think focus and introspection are overarching themes to the album. However, they don’t sacrifice any of the fun they are known for. This album will make you dance just like all of their albums and their live shows as well.
Like the song “Pilgrim” suggests, each song on “Heart is a Hero” provides a moment to stop along the trail to think, reflect and most importantly shake your booty. Introspective lyrics with engaging rhythm makes for a heck of journey.
About the author: Chip and his family live in Birmingham, AL. Roll Tide!