Liverpool-based duo The Wood present their 'Cold Fire' EP, released via UK imprint Riverdream Records. Here, Alex Evans (vocals) and Steve Powell (guitar and bass) are at their best, with solid grooves and melodies full of beauty, passion and genuine feeling. Creating music that is difficult to categorise yet somehow sounds familiar, The Wood cleverly mesh soul, rock and folk in songs filled with purpose and an innate sense of release.

Mastered by Pete Maher (U2, Nick Cave, Depeche Mode, Pixies. Nine Inch Nails), the EP was produced bySteve Powell, an expert at unearthing sonic magic. Having recorded many notable artists records, includingMichael Head and The Strands, John Power, def.fo, The Stairsand Ella Guru, Powell also produced and played guitar on the firstMichael Head and the Red Elastic Band record 'Arturius Revisited', as well as the number one indie album'Adios Senor Pussycat'.

For the lead track 'Cold Fire', the duo are joined by ex-Island Records vocalist Brooke Combe, fresh from an appearance on Later With Jools Holland and having just supported Lionel Richie on his UK-Ireland summer tour and Benson Boone on his US tour this last month. She’s tasked herself with bringing more soul to the masses, so she’s in more than appropriate company with The Wood. A shared mission it seems.

The balmy blues chords of an electric piano open before Combe's timeless soul voice steps quietly into a willing spotlight. She’s upfront in the mix, singing to your face; yet it feels close and personal. 'Cold Fire' soothes its way toward the chorus, building around a conclave of gospel harmonies and a sultry, simmering groove. The arrival of Alex Evans’ voice, tumbling down the registers and through the changes, comes edged with a pure soul grit. A perfect storm of gospel, soul, jazz and rock, and its real. It feels ageless, an uncut gem of a song presented in the most natural way.

The Wood's funkier-than-thou version of 'Romantic Attitude', the John Fitch and Associates rare soul classic, screams to be heard and then shrugs its shoulders with an insistent funk groove, Steve Powell’s spectacular psyched-up six stringed wig-outs feature as standard, sounding like the party you really wish you’d gone to.

'Hold On' feels time-aged, sundried, dusty and raw, like Laurel Canyon through a cracked and dirty windscreen. You can feel there’s whisky nearby. It’s a song of yearning and hope, a conversation windblown by time. Steve Powell’s minimal production and Phil Melville’s interwoven layers of slide dobro swoop around Alex Evans’ scored soul vocal, in a space where only what’s necessary is allowed. No extras, no fuss from this perfectly balanced songwriting duo.

'Wait For The Sun' means business. It comes storming in, in a blizzard of insistent urgency, intense and unforgiving. It’s all chugging and rock guitars, blissed out harmonies, and an Alex Evans vocal steeped in his trademark passionate energy. This is The Wood in triumphant mode, and rightly so, because the 'Cold Fire' EP is a definite triumph.

Rewinding a few years, Evans and Powell met while Evans was recording at his Ark Recording Studios, located amongst the imposing brick edifices of Liverpool's ancient dockland. Released in 2024, their debut 'Days' album (previewed by 'Let It Loose'), also involved Martin Smith and Simon James (The Coral, Shack) on brass and Jake Howden-Woodward (Nova Twins) on drums.

As of October 31, the 'Cold Fire' EP is available everywhere online, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp.

SINGLE CREDITS
Written by Steve Powell & Alex Evans
Alex Evans – vocals
Steve Powell – guitar & bass
Brooke Combe – vocals
Jake Woodward – drums
Mike Smith – organ
Rob Stringer – piano
Charlie Griffiths – backing vocals
Clair Griffiths – backing vocals
Amy Chalmers – violin
Matt Phillips – cello
Rachel Nicholas – viola
Produced & recorded by Steve Powell at Ark Recording Studios, Liverpool
Mastered by Pete Maher
Single cover graphics by Alex Evans
EP cover graphics by Alex Evans & Ed Rimmer
Released by Riverdream Records 2025
Artist photos by John Johnson
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR