Donovan Woods: I Won't Mention It Again
Warm vocals, sweet steel, and memorable lyrics make this a winner.
By Kerry Doole
Donovan Woods - I Won’t Mention It Again (End Times Music): On March 18, hit country songwriter and roots troubadour Donovan Woods will release a new six-song EP, Big Hurt Boy. Along with this announcement comes this new single.
It is a typically understated tune, with Woods' gentle and warm vocals nicely accompanied by harmony vocals and sweetly haunting steel guitar, and featuring his signature knack of penning memorable lines - "It's only a moment of silence for a tragedy only I care about."
Explaining the title of his new EP in a press release, Wood reflects upon the failures we all confront and hopefully learn from. “I write about them again and again, just hoping people will still be interested. So the title is poking fun of myself, that I’m theoretically this big sad guy who keeps getting dumped and writing fucking songs about it.”
Woods has a well-earned reputation as an eloquent chronicler of the human condition. Winner of the 2019 Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album (for Both Ways), he is also an in-demand songwriter for other artists. He has written such hits as Tim McGraw's Portland, Maine and Lady A’s Charles Kelley's Leaving Nashville, and has co-written with the notable likes of Tom Douglas, Lori McKenna, Brandy Clark, Ashley Monroe, Dustin Christensen, and Ed Robertson (Barenaked Ladies).
Of note: Woods and his manager, Michelle Szeto, recently launched an independent label imprint, End Times Music, the home of his new EP. He has announced a cross-Canada tour beginning in Sarnia on April 20 and concluding on May 27 with a prestigious show at Toronto's Massey Hall. US dates will be announced shortly.
Links
Publicity: Ken Beattie, Killbeat
Management: Michelle Szeto, Paquin
Aya NakamuraMarion Gomez/Billboard France