In comparison to the somewhat prosaic cover art, the music on The Wood Brothers’ Puff of Smoke is artful and unpredictable.
Given that this is the group’s ninth album, that is no small achievement. Throughout the years, Oliver, Chris, and Jano (who joined up around 2011) have managed to freshen their sound with each recorded outing, emphasizing certain of their roots over others in the distinctive overall mix of folk, blues, gospel, and rock.
In doing so, they’ve become experts in the recording studio. On this Honey Jar Records title, in co-production with engineer Brook Sutton (and mastering technician Eric Conn, who preserves the latter’s realistic recorded sonics), the trio arranges the trenchant material they compose…