Nick Woods Cuts Through the Static in 'Writing You a Letter' [Fresh Vid]

If you've spent time seeking out performances by ace songwriters around town in recent years, hopefully you've had a chance to hear the work of Nick Woods. The Virginia native is a canny writer of narrative tunes, following in the footsteps of other greats by illuminating characters and stories from within, rather than just shining a light on them from the outside.

Woods tells the Cream via email that his forthcoming record Bad Captain was recorded mostly in 2016, and it'll finally see the light of day soon via local DIY arts space and label enterprise Soft Junk. Like everything else during the COVID-19 pandemic, circumstances are preventing a complete plan for the rollout of the album. But we are very pleased to share the music video for the Bad Captain song “Writing You a Letter” today.

Casey Pierce shot the original footage, which Woods transformed into a hazy transmission that materializes through the static on an old television. Woods isn't inclined to explain songs, so that he doesn't influence what people hear in them. “My favorite songs are usually ones that seem like they were more uncovered, than written,” he says. “I think of certain kind of Lucinda Williams song when I think of that.”

“Writing You a Letter” is a simple in its construction, though the emotional arc it examines is complex. Without giving too much away about the song, Woods goes on to say that it grew from an appreciation of a particular melodic structure that you hear in Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson's “Good Hearted Woman,” which is echoed gently in Mary Gauthier's “I Drink” and even Paul Simon's “Graceland.” Woods was eventually spurred to put his own spin on the idea by performing with fellow local Leo Rondeau — specifically Rondeau's “Resistance In My Blood.”

Give “Writing You a Letter” a spin above. For updates on Bad Captain and other projects, keep an eye on Woods' Instagram profile and Bandcamp. (There, you'll find another new release, the single “Who'd Take Me In,” on which Woods is backed by local experimental folk champions The Cherry Blossoms.)