22. August 2025
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Media Review

The Wood Brothers – Puff Of Smoke

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

The Wood Brothers - Puff Of Smoke

The Wood Brothers - Puff Of Smoke
4.1

Rating

 4.1/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Very versatile album
  • Characteristic sound made of of different Americana elements
  • Overall, entertaining listen

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Some too virtuous and lengthy

In April 2023, I featured the album Heart is the Hero by the roots band The Wood Brother. On 1st August 2025, they came back with a new album, Puff of Smoke. Here is my review of their tenth studio album overall.

 

The Wood Brothers – About The Artists

The Wood Brothers are a trio, who do Americana rock with blendings of roots, folk and blues sounds. Two of the members are brothers, Chris (vocals, bass) and Oliver Wood (guitars). The third member is multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix. The two brothers grew up in Boulder in Colorado and later moved to Atlanta and New York City. Rix joined them around 2011. At that time, the band had already released three albums. With Rix, the band became more successful and had three albums in a row in the Top 3 of the US Heat Charts.

 

The Wood Brothers – Puff Of Smoke – Track by Track

The eleven track album lasts 42 minutes.

1. Witness

The album starts with one of its single releases, Witness. While the chorus is very melodic and even has a slightly hymnic touch, the remaining song is rather defined by very rhythmic stanzas, which are close to spoken word. The Americana vibes are present in this song, but The Wood Brother extend the sound to rather distant limits.

2. Puff of Smoke

After the opener had a slightly experimental touch, the title song Puff of Smoke comes with a nicer. Despite this act is “just” a trio, the song feels to have a rather wide instrumentation. The key element, indeed, is the Hammond-alike keys part. However, the groovy bass is a very cool element of this track as well.

Every day is a puff of smoke
Or maybe it’s a river flowin’
Takin’ you where you’re goin’
No matter how you fuss and fight
You’re gonna ride

3. Pray God Listens

The first three songs of Puff of Smoke define very different sounds. Pray God Listens has a jazzy touch and feels like a cool song for a small and dignified venue. Thereby, The Wood Brothers find a nice leverage of interesting storytelling and instrumental virtuosity. Definitely not a mainstream song, but this single release has a really nice touch.

4. Money Song

Money rich, money poor, no money and you’re out the door – the fourth song starts with these lyrics. Just in line with that, the song feels easy, even a bit of childish. The chorus, however, takes you back to a more serious touch. Money don’t make the world go ‘round. Every day the sun goes up and down. Despite the funny and ironic presentation, the song does come with depth in its message.

5. The Trick

Maybe you should not put music into categories and genres too often (however, they are the best way to describe a song in reviews). Describing songs by The Wood Brothers by categories is difficult – and regarding this song, it is even a major challenge. There are soulful elements (with backing vocals) paired with rock as well as calmer moments, where the song feels to head into the country-folk direction. Overall, the song is very virtuous. In some parts, when the synth parts are too present, even cacophonous. The Trick is not my favorite listen, to be straight.

6. Is It Up To You

You think you found the words to describe
The feeling you get when you don’t even have to try
If you choose to speak you can kiss it goodbye

Is It Up To You is one of the more melodic songs. There is a nice blues touch, but overall, the song rather feels like an alternative folk track. The chorus stays in your mind, even though it does have some distortion in it as well.

7. Above All Others

The fourth – and last – song, which the trio has already shared before album release, is Above All Others. The organ is majorly playing a waltz rhythm, which leads to a nice sway. Chris Wood’s voice feels very calm and unagitated in the first part of the song, before the band uses their strings and surprise with a rather rocking sound. To me, the 4:24 minute song feels a bit too long, though.

8. The Waves

The Waves is a song with a strong folk music signature. Again, the organ-alike sounds define the background of the song, while the drum set is less present. The metaphoric storytelling in here is beautiful, but later parts of the song also lead to nice moments on the instrumental side.

We hide our wounds within
It still hurts when the salt hits my skin
I won’t pull away
I’d rather be lost in the waves

9. Slow Rise (To The Middle)

Slow Rise (To The Middle) welcomes the listener in the style of an Americana rock track. The pace of the track is rather settled. However, The Wood Brothers rarely present themselves as speed enthusiasts in Puff Of Smoke anyway. The song is one of the most fluent and best listens of Puff of Smoke.

10. You Choose Me

You Choose Me starts with a mixture of a bluesy groove and some rocking elements. However, in some moments, the song also calms down and completely focuses on its vocal part. This overall leads to a very entertaining listen.

11. Till The End

Till The End is a nice and melodic finale of the album. The song has a theatric touch and rather spreads nostalgic vibes. Chris Woods asks Why did I wait for so long to believe? You are here till the end to show me in the chorus. A melancholic feeling closes Puff of Smoke.

 

The Wood Brothers – Puff Of Smoke – Spotify

Here is the album on Spotify:

 

The Wood Brothers – Puff Of Smoke – My View

Puff Of Smoke is definitely not a mainstream listen. It is also a real challenge to describe the eleven songs with words. Nonetheless, it is entertaining to listen to The Wood Brothers in their 2025 album. Some moments of the record feel a bit of length, but overall, I did enjoy it.

Favorite Song: Money Song

 

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2 thoughts on “The Wood Brothers – Puff Of Smoke”

  1. Hi Florian! I am new here but I love these album reviews so far! Is there a way to sign up for an email list? I am afraid I will miss a lot but if I were to get an email reminder about an article, I’ll definitely read and engage! Feel free to email me back:)

    Reply

    1. Hi Savannah,
      thanks for your comment. I typically publish some 10-12 posts a week, i.e. most of the days one in the morning, one at late afternoon German time. At the moment, album reviews come (as previews) on Wednesday and Thursday morning, (as reviews) Friday morning and afternoon, potentially on the weekend as well.

      I don’t have a newsletter – but you can follow my social accounts, which announce any post:

      Thanks,
      Florian

      Reply

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