In 2020, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings' studio in Nashville was nearly destroyed by a tornado. Their new album, the first co-authored by the duo in seven years, “Woodland” was recorded there and it serves as a metaphor for their longstanding folk music partnership
With beautiful acoustic guitar interplay they contrast bleakness with elegance in many of the songs and feature more instrumentation then some of their more spartan recordings in the past; steel guitar, bass and on some songs even drums,
One of the songs is a tribute to Guy Clark, a hero of theirs who passed away in 2016, and Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show add his fiddle to a timeless song about the Mississippi river.
Many of their original songs are based on old folk traditions and as their voices perfectly harmonize over the ten tracks it’s easy to see the connection between their music and how their beloved studio, “Woodland” is a new structure being built on an old foundation.