Wood Willow - Southern Intentions (2022)

Wood Willow brings traditional sounds to modern times with ease and aplomb. Wood Willow, who consist of Joel Parks (vocals/guitar), and Becca Herrod (vocals/mandolin), certainly know a lot about what real traditional folk, bluegrass and country music is. This is evident as these genres permeate throughout their debut album ‘Southern Intentions.’ Of course it is a difficult weight to carry when you try to present these more conventional sounds to a modern audience. The additional load with Parks and Herrod lies in the fact that they attach a Southern tag to their music.

Yet, from the opener, ‘So Much Runnin’, you realise that they blend those time-honoured sounds with their own interpretation and by the title track, you can hear their assuredness transcending that established tag and presenting it in a new light, giving both their covers and original tunes that timeless quality that these orthodox sounds really deserve.

At the same time, they have both instrumental and vocal capabilities to present the music in the best possible light. For instance, on ‘On With The News’, they are able to get close to the ranks of such traditionalists such as Gillian Welch and Rhiannon Giddens.

‘Southern Intentions’ might be a debut, but it speaks of both abundant musical knowledge and burgeoning talent that can make us expect even greater things from Wood Willow in the future.