Listen: The Wood Brothers Share Cuban-inspired “Pray God Listens,” Second Single from ‘Puff Of Smoke’
Photo credit: Laura Partain
The Wood Brothers have returned today with “Pray God Listens,” the second single from Puff Of Smoke. Arriving on August 1 from their Honey Jar/Thirty Tigers imprint, the ninth studio album from the two-decade roots trio of brothers Chris and Oliver Wood and Jano Rix is an 11-track meditation on uncertainty and accepting the limited understanding and ability that make us human. In a sharp left turn from the nonchalant boogie of the first single, “Witness,” the combo’s latest preview is a wry and apprehensive petition to heaven.
“‘Pray God Listens’ is a bit humorous and cynical, but ultimately it’s a song of compassion and humility,” guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Oliver Wood shared. “It’s meant to be light, but it’s ambiguous enough that you can draw your own conclusion. You can take the cynicism part and the humor, or you can go a little deeper and find the compassion.”
The second advance cut–and its divergence from the first–is another shining example of The Wood Brothers’ kitchen-sink approach to Americana. To devise their uniquely off-kilter and unpredictable traditional sound, the trio mix and match fragments of country, soul, blues, jazz and more and glue them all together with their reliable wit, insight and unguarded honesty. “Pray God Listens” builds its potently opaque account of faith over a smoky Cuban-inspired arrangement of cheeky piano trills and woody slaps of bass.
“There’s a lot to unpack musically in this band, and it’s been this evolutionary process over the years and on each subsequent record,” bassist Chris Wood detailed. “Over time, the diversity of things we can do has all become part of our language.”
After joining The String Cheese Incident for a set of performances earlier in the week–they’ll reunite on July 18 to support SCI’s annual return to Red Rocks–The Wood Brothers are now off to the races for their jam-packed summer tour schedule. The trio will return to the stage tonight for a set at Cumberland, Md.’s DelFest, then speed into a series of 18 standalone concerts and a 15-show co-headline run with St. Paul & The Broken Bones through Sept. 20. Find tickets and more information here.
Puff Of Smoke is available to pre-order now. Read on for the album’s full tracklist, and learn more about the Wood Brothers at thewoodbros.com.
Puff Of Smoke – The Wood Brothers:
1. Witness
2. Puff of Smoke
3. Pray God Listens
4. Money Song
5. The Trick
6. Is It Up To You
7. Above All Others
8. The Waves
9. Slow Rise (to the middle)
10. You Choose Me
11. Till The End
