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Touring behind (2020’s) Without People saw Woods play to his largest audiences to date. That included a stint opening for New Jersey-based retro rockers Gaslight Anthem on their recent reunion tour.Throughout his distinguished career, Donovan Woods has built a devoted following who cling to the acclaimed songwriter’s every word. Never one to mince words, Woods is one of music’s most vulnerable storytellers and on his forthcoming studio album, Donovan takes that a step further. Honest and unflinching, on Things Were Never Good If They’re Not Good Now, his upcoming seventh studio album, Woods takes a long look inside and isn’t necessarily thrilled with what he sees. For an artist who isn’t afraid to bear his soul, this is as emotionally gritty as he has ever been.Long known as a masterful storyteller, Woods is at his absolute best on Things Were Never Good If They’re Not Good Now. Across the album’s 12 sparse, intimate songs, Woods finds himself reflecting on the ups and downs he has been through since 2020. His writing allowed him to open up and address the complexities of life that he has been going through.The album, he notes, serves as “a funeral to the life he was living.”Sonically, Woods decided to take a different approach.“We had our boundaries and made things sound beautiful within them,” he says. “And what’s left is scrappier than Without People, but I feel like moments of creation are much more accessible on this record.”Many of the songs that comprise Things Were Never Good If They’re Not Good Now focus on the intricacies of friendships and relationships, and looking at the little moments in life.Co-produced with longtime collaborator James Bunton over much of 2023, the album’s delicate nature is reflected in its lyrics.The psychology of people’s actions always fascinated Woods and informs much of Things Were Never Good If They’re Not Good Now. Focusing on happy, party feelings doesn’t appeal to him.Once he gets down these darker paths (“It was a warts and all album in a way that I never had done before”), which he admits can be uncomfortable, the songs flow and are universal.In particular, on the heart-wrenching “Rosemary”. Co-written with Connor Seidel, “Rosemary”contemplates what happens in the aftermath of a heated argument.
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Patty
April 27th 2024
Great show! Such a wonderful songwriter and entertainer. Beautiful evening.
Austin, TX@Scoot Inn
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Donovan Woods Biography
Donovan Woods was in on the joke when he named his previous release. Riffing on a lyric from a Martin Simpson song (“Never Any Good”), Big Hurt Boy is a six-song exploration of how our failures — and our fixations on them — not only shape but enlighten us.
“I write about them again and again, just hoping people will still be interested,” the acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter says. “So the title is poking fun of myself, that I’m theoretically this big sad guy who keeps getting dumped and writing songs about it.”
Or you could think of it this way: Woods’ deep curiosity about the human condition is why we so clearly hear our own stories in his. The details differ, the characters change, but at their core, Donovan Woods songs are for and about everyone.
That trend continues on with his latest single, “I’m Around.” Serving a preview of new music to come, Woods continues with the luminous production touches that has defined his recent work. The song is deeply personal, and universally relatable. At its surface, it is about a breakup, but with Woods’ layered songwriting, there’s so much more to it.
“It’s about how we sometimes don’t stop loving even when we’re not in love anymore,” he explains. “I wanted it to be practical and unsentimental, without subtext. (I am useful, if you need me. I don’t want to but I will.)”
Co-written with David Hodges, Woods recorded “I’m Around” with Mike Sonier in Los Angeles earlier this year. “It’s a song encompassing nearly everything I’m trying to do with songwriting,” Woods says. “Explaining what the day feels like while giving latent sadness and regret an elegant push out of my mind, into the air. “
As an in-demand songwriter whose work has been recorded by the likes of Tim McGraw (“Portland, Maine”) and Lady A’s Charles Kelley (“Leaving Nashville”), Woods has been venturing beyond the singer-songwriter scene where he first cut his teeth. Equally at home in folk and country, he has worked with songwriters such as Tom Douglas, Lori McKenna, Brandy Clark, Ashley Monroe, Dustin Christensen, Femke Weidema, Steve Robson, and Ed Robertson (Barenaked Ladies).
Woods' featured vocals on Dabin & Nurko’s “When This Is Over” veered into anthemic dance pop, and yet he still sounded right at home. On “IOWA,” Woods found a kindred spirit in Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Aoife O’Donovan for a pastoral meditation on dreaming of a place you know doesn’t exist.
Each of these collaborations has highlighted a budding truth about Woods: As respected as he is as a solo artist, he’s evolving and upending our expectations of how his music sounds. His songs have grown more dimensional, emboldened by new sonic landscapes, reminding us that classic songwriting transcends genre.
Read More“I write about them again and again, just hoping people will still be interested,” the acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter says. “So the title is poking fun of myself, that I’m theoretically this big sad guy who keeps getting dumped and writing songs about it.”
Or you could think of it this way: Woods’ deep curiosity about the human condition is why we so clearly hear our own stories in his. The details differ, the characters change, but at their core, Donovan Woods songs are for and about everyone.
That trend continues on with his latest single, “I’m Around.” Serving a preview of new music to come, Woods continues with the luminous production touches that has defined his recent work. The song is deeply personal, and universally relatable. At its surface, it is about a breakup, but with Woods’ layered songwriting, there’s so much more to it.
“It’s about how we sometimes don’t stop loving even when we’re not in love anymore,” he explains. “I wanted it to be practical and unsentimental, without subtext. (I am useful, if you need me. I don’t want to but I will.)”
Co-written with David Hodges, Woods recorded “I’m Around” with Mike Sonier in Los Angeles earlier this year. “It’s a song encompassing nearly everything I’m trying to do with songwriting,” Woods says. “Explaining what the day feels like while giving latent sadness and regret an elegant push out of my mind, into the air. “
As an in-demand songwriter whose work has been recorded by the likes of Tim McGraw (“Portland, Maine”) and Lady A’s Charles Kelley (“Leaving Nashville”), Woods has been venturing beyond the singer-songwriter scene where he first cut his teeth. Equally at home in folk and country, he has worked with songwriters such as Tom Douglas, Lori McKenna, Brandy Clark, Ashley Monroe, Dustin Christensen, Femke Weidema, Steve Robson, and Ed Robertson (Barenaked Ladies).
Woods' featured vocals on Dabin & Nurko’s “When This Is Over” veered into anthemic dance pop, and yet he still sounded right at home. On “IOWA,” Woods found a kindred spirit in Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Aoife O’Donovan for a pastoral meditation on dreaming of a place you know doesn’t exist.
Each of these collaborations has highlighted a budding truth about Woods: As respected as he is as a solo artist, he’s evolving and upending our expectations of how his music sounds. His songs have grown more dimensional, emboldened by new sonic landscapes, reminding us that classic songwriting transcends genre.
Country.
Folk
Roots
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