In No Plan a Masterwork is unveiled

The Wood Brothers

One Drop of Truth

Honey Jar Records 

   For a record that is up for Record of The Year in some circles, this disc has received very little notice.  These two brothers Chris and Oliver Wood and their long-time partner Jano Rix is so good that they are almost taken for granted.  One blessing here is it seems they went to make this disc with no preconceived notions of what they wanted to put on it, no blueprint of what the disc should be about, and then built it as they went along, so that it wanders over all of their influences, and at the same time in its randomness has a solid foundation of diverse roots and influences.  This is their sixth disc and at times you can hear the influence of The Band, then on other it shows they listened to country-folk, and then there is singer/songwriter, and the one thing that stands out is that each song inhabits a world all of its own, and is a part of the big picture and yet at the same time, isolated.  

   The band plays and wrote all the music that is contained on this disc, and is comprised of Chris Wood; Bass, Vocals;  Oliver Wood; Guitar, Vocals;  and Jano Rix; Vocals, Shuitar, Percussion, Keyboards.    It is produced by the three of them and recorded at four different studios, somehow all of this from disparate place settings comes together into one whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.  Though this disc does wander and doesn’t seem to have a theme the listener finds that gradually it all seems to mesh together.  Sort of like when you are cooking at home and trying to finish up what is in the fridge, and though when you think of what you put into the dish it seems discombobulated.  Bam!  It works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m1NXS8hG44

   Then to finish it all off it seems to be greater than the sum of its parts, and that seems to be the reason it is one of those discs that doesn’t go away and seems to be one of those discs that manages to hold the whole year together.  If you get a chance to see them do not miss it.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w01Zu9ppscc

by bob gottlieb