The Matt Woods Band is thrilled to announce the release of their latest album, Almost Made It…, available to all on July 11, 2022.
Almost Made It, the new album from Matt Woods, takes new turns down familiar roads. Leading his band through a mostly instrumental set that takes inspiration from the three Kings, T-Bone Walker and more, he keeps it exciting and unexpected at every turn with layers of New Orleans jangle, Chicago smoke, some Latin grooves and even a bit of a rag. “I like to keep things fresh,” he notes on the album’s diversity of styles. “I like to challenge myself, but I also like to work. The idea I like is being able to go as a solo artist, in a duo, a trio, whatever; I don’t want to be pigeon-holed. At the end of the day I want to be a versatile, well-rounded musician.” The songs on Almost Made It further that goal with a natural flow and ease that showcase Woods’ songwriting chops as well as his command of tone. “I wasn’t really thinking about the way the songs came together, I was just trying to express myself. I had all these ideas I wanted to get out there, but there was no real conscious effort to try to cover a bunch of styles.” Despite the unexpected combination of seven instrumentals and just one vocal track, there’s serious method behind the madness. “One of the first records that got me into this whole thing is Lets Hideaway and Dance With Freddy King, and that’s all instrumental; it’s one of the first records I remember being obsessed with that broke away from the mostly Delta stuff I’d been playing when I first started. The song with vocals (“I’m Cryin'”) is last for a specific reason. The record’s called Almost Made It, and I almost made it a full instrumental record. I felt like I needed to add one more song, and it felt right to have it there at the end.”
