Oliver Wood, the co-founding singer/songwriter/guitarist of Grammy-nominated roots trio The Wood Brothers, has released “Kindness”, the second single from his forthcoming debut solo album, Always Smilin’, due for release on May 21st via Honey Jar/Thirty Tigers. “Kindness” follows previously released lead single “Fine Line”.
The song, a swaggering hodgepodge of rhythmically layered pops and plucks, comes across as a loose and carefree testimony from Wood—a mission statement both in thematic and musical terms. As Wood sings with the help of a chorus of backing vocalists, “Kindness is my religion.”
“The idea for the lyric ‘kindness is my religion,’ comes from the Dalai Lama who has expressed this sentiment in his teachings,” explains Oliver Wood in a press release. “There are a handful of people in my own life who inspire me and seem to live that way. I was really thinking about them when writing this one. In fact, they helped me make this record.”
The music for “Kindness” was written during a pre-pandemic jam with Oliver’s good friends Ric Robertson (on Wurlitzer), Aaron Lipp (on banjo), Ted Pecchio (on bass) and Nick Falk (on the chicken coop). Oliver and recording engineer Brook Sutton later edited the jam into the different sections of the song, while Wood Brothers bandmate Jano Rix added the drums that serve to string the excerpted segments together as a cohesive piece.
“It’s a weird and fun song,” Wood adds. “Capturing an improv like that and writing lyrics on top of it is a favorite way to write. It’s an idea that was adopted from the previous Wood Brothers album Kingdom In My Mind. It’s impossible to recreate that kind of playfulness and spontaneity when you’re trying to capture a take for a song that’s already been written.”
Along with the release of “Kindness”, Oliver Wood shared a dry-erase animation video for the track created by artist Joel Meeks. Watch the video below and stream “Kindness” on the digital platform of your choice here.
Oliver Wood – “Kindness” (Official Video by Joel Meeks)
[Video: Oliver Wood]
While 2020 was a year of struggle for most, the album’s sunny title embodies the silver linings-guided nature of the project. “The year before the pandemic, people would come through Nashville where I live and I’d set up a co-write or a jam in our studio, just to do some stuff outside of my own band,” Oliver explains. “There wasn’t an album in mind. I just wanted to be creative. But when the pandemic happened, the songs started building up.”
Embracing the full range of Oliver Wood’s musical heritage, Always Smilin‘ builds upon the blues and gospel sounds he explored long before The Wood Brothers’ formation to the American roots music he’s been making during the past two decades. As a press release notes, “It’s an album of collaborations and communal recordings, spearheaded by a longtime team player who, for the first time ever, is making the final decisions himself. There will be more Wood Brothers music in the future, but this is an album about the present. An album about right now. And right now, Oliver Wood is smiling.”
The album’s various guests serve as a bridge between Oliver’s past and present. Featured artists on Always Smilin’ include mentor, co-writer, and King Johnson co-founder Chris Long, Wood Brothers percussionist Jano Rix, blues-rock powerhouse singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi (Tedeschi Trucks Band), acclaimed keyboardist John Medeski (Medeski Martin & Wood), and more while Rebecca Wood, Oliver’s wife, designed the album’s cover art.
Below, check out the full track listing for Always Smilin’, the debut solo album from Oliver Wood. To pre-order your copy of the album, head here.