The Wood Brothers Announce New Album ‘Puff Of Smoke’, Release New Single
‘Puff of Smoke’, the highly-anticipated ninth studio album from Grammy Award-nominated, progressive Americana trio The Wood Brothers, has been announced for release on 1st August, 2025, via Honey Jar/Thirty Tigers.
It’s preceded today by the album’s first single “Witness” (LISTEN HERE) accompanied by a video for the song filmed and edited by founding member and bassist Chris Wood.
Recorded at The Wood Brothers’ creative home-base The Studio Nashville, Puff of Smoke is brimming with joy in the face of the human condition in 2025, delivering lyrical wisdom with the winking subtlety of John Prine and the musical hive mind of a seasoned group with two decades of shared experiences. But instead of providing a literal soundtrack to uncertain times or a roadmap to navigate them, the 11-song collection posits a happily contrarian outlook: Life can turn on a dime, and all we truly have is the moment at hand.
“We’re not in control and that can be good news,” says guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Oliver Wood. “Puff of Smoke speaks to the idea of letting go and taking the ride.”
Fans who have hopped aboard at waypoints along The Wood Brothers’ journey that began with their now classic 2006 debut Ways Not to Lose already know to expect a new drop from the band will bring inventive songwriting, a grounded lyrical wit, and an adventurous sweep of sonic avenues.
“There’s a lot to unpack musically in this band, and it’s been this evolutionary process over the years and on each record,” Chris Wood explains. “Over time, the diversity of things we can do has all become part of our language.”
“This album is a little bit schizophrenic and eclectic,” continues Oliver. “It goes in a number of different directions.”
Always looking to find new sounds to express in their music, the album’s opening track “Witness” dives deep into the pan-American songbook, garnished with a blast of back-alley New Orleans brass. On “The Trick,” Rix found the song’s signature sound by experimenting with a Fender Rhodes pushed through distortion and octave pedals. On “Above All Others,” he manipulated an analog synth to conjure the underwater-calliope sounds that give the song its atmospheric shimmer. The loose, front stoop feel of “Slow Rise (To the Middle)” and “You Choose Me” are first-take gold; the final versions that made the album were actually the first times the trio played them together in full.
While Puff Of Smoke distills The Wood Brothers’ curious musical minds, voracious appetite for the creative process, and love of spontaneity, it also finds inspiration in the group’s shared focus on meditation and mindfulness.
Oliver explains: “Songs like ‘The Trick’ and ‘Witness’ are very much about mindfulness. ‘The trick is not to give a damn’ — so, that’s detachment — or, ‘I’m just a witness’ — I’m just watching things happen. I’m not gonna be my feelings. I’m gonna watch ’em float by. Even a song like ‘Pray God Listens,’ which is a little bit humorous and cynical, leaves room to go a little deeper to find the compassion.”
Puff of Smoke is a reminder that life is both precious and precarious — a sentiment underscored by our current geopolitical moment and the unpredictable nature of life itself — and The Wood Brothers invite you to join the ride.
Puff Of Smoke
Track Listing
1. Witness
2. Puff of Smoke
3. Pray God Listens
4. Money Song
5. The Trick
6. Is It Up To You
7. Above All Others
8. The Waves
9. Slow Rise (To The Middle)
10. You Choose Me
11. Till The End
Feature Image Photo Credit: Laura Partain
The Wood Brothers new album ‘Puff Of Smoke; is released on Friday 1st August 2025 via Honey Jar/Thirty Tigers. It will be released on Vinyl, CD & Digital formats.
Pre-order/Pre-save here: https://orcd.co/wb-puff
For more information visit their official website here: https://www.thewoodbros.com/
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