The Wood Brothers have released “Cry Over Nothing” – the second single from the Nashville-based trio’s forthcoming studio album, Kingdom In My Mind – due January 24 on Honey Jar/Thirty Tigers. The song’s release is accompanied by the addition of 18 shows to the band’s extensive 2020 U.S. tour.
Take a listen to the new single below…
Kingdom In My Mind was recorded over a series of freewheeling, improvised sessions, ultimately resulting in The Wood Brothers’ most spontaneous and experimental work yet. On past albums, the band—brothers Oliver and Chris Wood and Jano Rix—would write a batch of songs and then deliberately set out to record them, but for this latest effort, they began the process without even realizing it. At the time, they thought they were simply breaking in their new Nashville recording studio/rehearsal space, tracking a series of extended instrumental jam sessions as a way to test drive the facility. However, after listening back, the trio realized there was something undeniably alive and uninhibited in what they captured.
So, like a sculptor chipping away at a block of marble, Chris took the sprawling improvisations and carefully chiseled out verses and choruses and bridges and solos until distinctive songs began to take shape. From there, the brothers divvied up the material that spoke to them most, penning lyrics both separately and together as they pondered what it takes to know contentment in our chaotic and confusing world.
“If we had known we were making a record, we probably would have been too self-conscious to play what we played,” reflects Chris. “At the time, we just thought we were jamming to break in our new studio, so we felt free to explore all these different ways of playing together without worrying about form or structure. It was liberating.”
In its sum, the 11-track collection is a reckoning with circumstance, mortality, and human nature. The material finds strength in accepting what lies beyond our control as it hones in on the bittersweet beauty that underlies doubt and pain and sadness with vivid character studies and unflinching self-examination. While the lyrics dig deep, the arrangements are buoyant and transportive, drawing from a broad sonic and stylistic spectrum.
“We all have these little kingdoms inside of our minds,” explains Chris. “And without really planning it out, the songs on this album all ended up exploring that idea in some way or another. They look at the ways we deal with our dreams and our regrets and our fears and our loves. They look at the stories we tell ourselves and the ways we balance the darkness and the light.”
Tour dates below…
12/3 – Baton Rouge, LA – Manship Theatre ^^
12/4 – Houston, TX – The Heights Theater ^^
12/5 – Austin, TX – Paramount Theatre ^^
12/6 – Dallas, TX – The Kessler Theater ^^
12/7 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom ^^
12/9 – Omaha, NE – Slowdown ^^
12/11 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up Aspen ^^
12/12 – Steamboat Springs, CO – Strings Music Festival
12/13 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater ^^
12/14 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater ^^
12/15 – Breckenridge, CO – Riverwalk Center ^^
1/29 – Baltimore, MD – Ram’s Head Live
1/30 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
1/31 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
2/1 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore
2/3 – Toronto, Canada – Mod Club Theatre
2/5 – Rochester, NY – Kodak Center
2/6 – Burlington, VT – Flynn Center for the Performing Arts
2/7 – New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall
2/8 – Albany, NY – Palace Theatre
2/9 – State College, PA – The State Theatre
2/11 – McKees Rocks, PA – Roxian Theatre
2/12 – Richmond, VA – The National
2/13 – Chattanooga, TN – Walker Theatre
2/14 – Nashville, TN – The Ryman
2/27 – 3/1 – Punta Cana, DR – Avett Brothers at the Beach
3/4 – Phoenix, AZ – The Crescent Ballroom
3/5 – Los Angeles, CA – The Regent
3/6 – Santa Barbara, CA – Campbell Hall
3/7 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
3/8 – Eureka, CA – Arkley Center for the Performing Arts
3/10 – Eugene, OR – McDonald Theater
*3/11 – Kirkland, WA – Kirkland Performance Center
3/12 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
3/13 – Vancouver, BC – Imperial
4/2 – Knoxville, TN – Bijou Theatre
4/3 – Knoxville, TN – Bijou Theatre
4/4 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre
4/5 – Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theatre
4/7 – Detroit, MI – Majestic Theatre
4/8 – Columbus, OH – Southern Theatre
4/9 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
4/10 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
4/11 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
^ w/ Nicole Atkins
^^ w/ Katie Pruitt
