Wood Willow take a stand against life’s endless rat race on their boisterous new track So Much Runnin’ — premiering exclusively on Tinnitist.
The leadoff single from the Oklahoma City roots duo’s upcoming debut album Southern Intentions, So Much Runnin’ finds singer-guitarist Joel Parks and singer-mandolinist Becca Herrod confidently busting out of the gate, putting their best foot forward and hitting their stride — all in less than three minutes. A seething indictment of unbridled capitalism levelled in harmonized hickory-snap tones, the compact but explosively powerful cut is propelled by a solidly stomping backbeat, gritty acoustic guitar and an urgently plucked mandolin that darkly darts and dances throughout the earthy anthem.
“So Much Runnin’ is a song that sonically blends our bluegrass roots with our rebellious nature,” the duo explain. “Lyrically, it loosely depicts a character traveling their life always in search of more only to drown in their own greed. It’s a song pointing out the flaws in the rise-and-grind culture that the world today seems to idolize.”
And it’s a damn fine introduction to the ascendant duo, who faithfully bring old-time sounds into the present with a dynamic hybrid sound that falls somewhere between Gillian Welch and The White Stripes. “I’ve found that genres can kind of be misleading,” Parks explains. “In every genre, there is incredible music and terrible attempts so when starting out we tried to give people a more tangible depiction of our sound and energy. Our acoustic instrumentation makes the Gillian Welch comparison easier for people to understand, but we like to add a bit of angst and attitude into songs that call for it, so we felt like we were channeling a more raw and raucous-filled duo like The White Stripes.”
The pair met in 2018 at Oklahoma’s International Bluegrass Festival and immediately bonded quickly. Soon after, Parks had a dream about seeing a lady in a crowded sidewalk with a T-shirt on that said “Wood” on the front and “Willow” on the back. With the name and vision in place, the pair added bassist Lucas Gillette, who’s played music with Parks for the past 15 years, including a decade as a part of the Britpop-flavored rock band Ripple Green.
For their debut album Southern Intentions (out April 22), Parks and Herrod brought Grammy-nominated producer Wes Sharon into the fold. Acclaimed for his work with John Fullbright, Parker Millsap and Turnpike Troubadours, Sharon allowed the natural chemistry to fully blossom while adding an expert touch.
On the title track, the tides rise, the willows buggy-whip, the harmonies soar sky high. Elsewhere, No More Close to Heaven is an Appalachia-flavoured stroll through gospel-inflected fields of gold, while Art Collection flexes its late-night soul, spreading its boozy/bluesy rock wings. Birds, with its pensive tension bubbles with questions, the deliberation of manifestation, while On With the News reaffirms one’s faith while seeking spiritual grace. Tijuana, with its bustlin’ two-step rhythm and stacked harmonies, rounds out the collection but really brings one back to the beginning, the promise of connection, without pretense.
Wood Willow will celebrate the album release in two stages. On April 1, fans, friends and family will gather at Ponyboy in OKC for the official release show. A few weeks later, the group will support The Arcadian Wild back at the same establishment. In May, they’ll be at the Folk Alliance conference in Kansas City, but first they’re barnstorming SXSW for guerrilla showcases.
Check out So Much Runnin’ above, sample more sounds from Wood Willow below, pre-save the single HERE and the album HERE, then run into them at their website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
