WOOD & WIRE

WOOD & WIRE
NORTH OF DESPAIR

Blue Corn Music
BCM 1801

Wood & Wire is based in Austin, Texas and this is their fourth project since forming in 2013. The band is Tony Kamel (guitar), Dom Fisher (bass, guitar), Trevor Smith (banjo, mandolin, organ), and Billy Bright (mandolin, mandola, guitar). They offer a blend of Americana with bluegrass roots heavily influenced by the Texas legacy of such artists as Willie Nelson, James McMurtry and Townes Van Zandt.

This project features the songwriting talents of Kamel, whose themes reflect life in the Texas countryside. The band’s solid arrangements and instrumental skill give intensity to the material. Kamel’s songs include “Just Don’t Make ’Em,” “Kingpin,” “Lies And Money,” and the title-cut. Bright offers the hot instrumental “Summertime Rolls” and swaps licks with banjoist Smith on his “Winging,” while Robin Bernard’s “Texas” is also given a nice run.

Kamel takes lead on most of the vocals, with Fisher and Smith adding harmony. There’s a really nice instrumental interplay between Smith and Bright as they blend the banjo and mandolin. The project was recorded at the famed The Zone studio in Dripping Springs where the songs were cut in a mostly live setting to give the project the right feel. (www.woodandwireband.com)BF