Double the Wood

"Sitting on the front porch/Ice cream in my hand/Melting in the sun/All that chocolate on my tongue/Now that's a good enough reason to live," sings Oliver Wood on the song "Chocolate on My Tongue" from Ways Not to Lose. The album pairs guitarist/vocalist Oliver with his brother Chris, bassist for Medeski, Martin and Wood as the Wood Brothers. The music is easy, spare and offhand, even as the lyrics hint at hard-won victories and hard-earned lessons.

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"It's sort of a desperate song, a self-consoling song. Even though it's kind of mellow and sweet-sounding, it comes from a more desperate place," says Oliver. But he doesn't elaborate, explaining that he wants listeners to draw their own interpretations from his lyrics. "I am proud of that song 'Chocolate' because when I wrote it, I wasn't really sure what it was about, either. Then I put it into the context of what was going on in my life, and I was, like, 'Oh, I see where that came from.' But I had to do that, and I like the idea that other people will put it into the context of their lives."

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Released via Blue Note Records, Ways Not to Lose is Oliver's major-label debut. But he's a familiar face in Atlanta, thanks to his longtime group King Johnson (which has earned its share of national press over the years, too). Eight of the album's 12 songs, in fact, are from King Johnson's four-album discography. But Oliver feels that by shearing the numbers off the heavy roots-rock improvisations and leaving much of Ways Not to Lose as just he and Chris — save for a few songs featuring drummer Kenny Wollesen — they're given new meaning.

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"My brother's such a strong and rhythmic bass player that it feels like there's drums," says Oliver. "Sometimes, when a whole band is playing, you tend to lose sight of some of the more subtle things. That includes lyrics, as well as the way the other instruments play."

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Ironically, Oliver started out as a bassist and taught younger brother Chris to play the instrument after he took up guitar. Does he find it ironic that Chris went on to become an internationally acclaimed bassist? "Do you mean am I bitter or pissed off at all?" laughs Oliver. "No, I like the irony of it. Plus, now I get to tag along with him."

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The Wood Brothers play Eddie's Attic Thurs., March 16, with Sandra McCracken. $12-$15. 7:30 p.m. 515-B N. McDonough St., Decatur. 404-377-4976. www.eddiesattic.com.