I loved Phil’s ideas and thought about Nashville, and then thought more universally about a lot of cities where gentrification is not only changing the look of the place, but displacing so many people. ![]() He didn’t have lyrics, but he did reference Bob Dylan’s ‘Nashville Skyline’ and mentioned the present day rapid growth of Nashville, cranes everywhere and the face of the town changing with every visit. The week before came he sent me chords and a melody he had. Throughout the song, Wood taps into the small town mentality that goes hand-in-hand with his roots stylings, starting with the opening line “When you come back home, boy/You gonna be so surprised/This little town that you came from/Has just left us behind.” Oliver Wood explained via a press release, Related: The Wood Brothers Perform “Little Bit Sweet” On Rooftop Of eTown Hall “Soul of This Town” takes direct aim at what Wood and Cook see as the scourge of gentrification. However, Wood maintains that the tune is a full-on collaboration with Cook, and it also includes Wood’s son Kieran on horns in their first-official collaboration. The song finds Oliver Wood in much the same gospel-blues sound that has defined The Wood Brothers. While “Soul of This Town” is not yet attached to any album, Wood stated in a press release that he does plan to release another single in early September. One-third of Grammy-nominated trio The Wood Brothers, teamed up with North Carolina singer-songwriter Phil Cook for the ditty about the dying spiritual nature of cities across the country. Pre-order it here.Oliver Wood has gone out on his own and shared his first solo single, “Soul of This Town”. ![]() Southland Mission is out 9/11 on Thirty Tigers. Two sides of the coin for a songwriter who is ambling toward his own quiet successes. “Anybody Else” is more of a slow-burner, meandering in a conversational way toward a solitary, stubborn urge. “Great Tide” sweeps in lovely and low, building to a rollicking, bombastic celebration of communal feeling. The covers both pay homage to the southern tradition that Cook so clearly loves, but it’s interesting to contrast the two original numbers we’ve heard. ![]() “Anybody Else” is the latest song we’ve heard off the new record it follows “ Great Tide,” his Charlie Parr cover “ 1922,” and his recent great cover of “ Northeast Texas Women” with Amelia Meath (of Sylvan Esso and Mountain Man). It’s a bright and child-like drawing that frames Cook, in sepia, giving an uncertain expression. His album artwork alone (above) seems determined to contort your expectations of the record. He co-produced Southland Mission with his brother Brad Cook, and it is a conglomeration of everything from soulful roots and blues, to experimental off-the-wall soft rock, to honeyed folk. White, Amy Ray (Indigo Girls), and Alice Gerrard, his solo debut sounds like an effort of singular focus. It seems like he wouldn’t have time for that these days aside from his integral role in groups like Megafaun, the Justin Vernon-affiliated GAYNGS and DeYardmond Edison, and working on various pieces and parts of records by Hiss Golden Messenger, The Blind Boys Of Alabama, Matthew E. Back in Megafaun’s early days, Phil Cook’s day job was clerking the record store he co-owned.
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