The Wood Brothers - Loaded (2008)

Tracklist

01. Lovin' Arms
02. Postcards From Hell
03. Pray Enough
04. Loaded
05. Walkaway
06. Don't Look Back
07. Twisted
08. Fall Too Fast
09. Angel
10. Buckets Of Rain
11. Make Me Down A Pallet On Your Floor
12. Still Close


A Wood Brothers record will always be a fail-safe purchase, the reason being that the musical instincts of Chris and Oliver Wood are as solid and unyielding as a 100-year-old oak. Loaded, the duo's second full-length, satisfies wholly, living up to and maybe past the promise of 2006's Ways Not to Lose. The biggest, most noticeable change is the depth of the songwriting: from the wistful, clear-eyed opening song, "Lovin' Arms," to the tender-hearted "Walkaway" to the quietly introspective closer, "Still Close," the brothers, who co-wrote for the first time on Loaded, reveal a range of feeling as broad and earthily sophisticated as their jazz- and blues-flecked riffs. Soul, not the sound but the entity, is a major component too: while most non-reggae artists falter hopelessly when attempting to switch gears and adopt the genre's sunshiny vibe, the Woods readily access a genuine breezy streak on "Angel," a cover of the Jimi Hendrix classic helped along by buddy Amos Lee. Another cover, of Dylan's "Bucket of Rain," also works a kind of authentic, deep-down magic - the Woods claim it fully but somehow respectfully. But there is one original that captures the imagination and the ear with unrelenting might: "Postcards from Hell," a folky lyrical mini-masterpiece, is a testament to two musicians whose chemistry is so potent it ought to be bottled.

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