Wood/Water

The Promise Ring released their third album Very Emergency in September 1999 through independent label Jade Tree Records,[1] serving as the final of three records the band was contracted to owe the label.[2] It helped the band expand their fanbase and earn minor airplay at college radio. Around this time, vocalist/guitarist Davey von Bohlen and drummer Dan Didier worked on the acoustic side project Vermont,[3] who released the album Living Together, also in September 1999.[4] In February 2000, while touring in support of Very Emergency[5] the band felt tired of playing what drummer Dan Didier referred to as "those stripped down power type songs."[6] The group released the Electric Pink EP in May that year.[7] Following this, the band were scheduled to go on a two-month European tour,[8] however, on the day they were due to go,[9] Bohlen was diagnosed with meningioma, a brain tumor variant.[10]

The tour was immediately cancelled[10] and Bohlen underwent surgery.[3] The band took the next few months off to recuperate[11] and work on new material.[2] Leading up to their support slot for Bad Religion, guitarist Jason Gnewikow said they had five new songs that were closer in style to their earlier album Nothing Feels Good (1997).[2] During the Bad Religion trek, Bohlen had a post-operative infection that resulted in the group dropping off the tour.[10] The band were subsequently unable to tour for the remainder of the year.[12] Though they had planned to writing and record after the stint,[2] the members didn't spend much time together: Gnewikow worked at his graphics company Public,[13] Bohlen and Didier focused on Vermont;[14] Didier also relaxed with his family. They brought a recording setup into their rehearsal room, which allowed Didier and Gnewikow to experiment for hours at a time.[15]

In February 2001, the band went to Bionic Studios in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to work on material with Kristian Riley of Citizen King.[16] Pre-production was done on "Stop Playing Guitar", "Wake Up April", "My Life Is at Home" and "Say Goodbye Good".[17] This demo session resulted in songs that marked a shift away from the sound of Very Emergency.[18] In May, they band demoed material[5] on the Pro Tools software.[6] The process marked a change from the group's previous process of jamming in rehearsal, playing the songs live and recording them as fast as was possible in the studio. They purposely attempted to reinvent their sound, though initially they were still writing material in the vein of Very Emergency.[5] After some difficulty, they re-evaluated and decided to write material at a steady pace.[5] The band were no longer signed to Jade Tree by March 2001,[19] and later signed to the Epitaph Records imprint Anti- in late 2001.[20]

The label contacted the band when it became known that they wouldn't be releasing their next album on Jade Tree. They contacted the band's manager, however, the group wasn't positive to this due to their unpleasant appearance on tour with Bad Religion. The band also disliked that Epitaph were known mainly for one style, Californian pop punk. Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion, who founded Epitaph, invited and subsquently flew the band out to Los Angeles, California.[21] He had wanted the group to sign to Epitaph, however, the band asked if they could be on Anti- as they were more familiar with that imprint.[22] Anti- featured artists that didn't fit into Epitaph's roster, such as Tom Waits, Tricky and Merle Haggard.[14]

The label were understanding, as they were aware the group wanted move away from the emo scene.[21] The band wanted more money than they had before to make a new album with, however, Jade Tree couldn't afford it; this served as the main reason behind leaving them.[23] They also wanted to move away from the sound that was associated with Jade Tree[13] as the band and label "became more or less synonymous" over time, according to Bohlen.[21] Another reason was the label's unwillingness to license the group's releases to labels in other countries; they had to convince Jade Tree to license the Electric Pink EP to Epitaph imprint Burning Heart Records for release in Europe. Similarly, they had to persuade the Jade Tree to license their albums in Japan, where the group was building in popularity.[2]

Musically, Wood/Water has been described as an alternative country,[26][30] indie rock[31][32] and pop release,[30][33][34][35][21] with elements of roots rock, alternative pop[36] and psychedelic pop.[24] It saw the band move away from the emo sound of their older material,[30][6] and incorporate keyboards, percussion,[37] pianos, acoustic guitars and soft vocals; the latter of these in the vein of Cat Stevens and Travis.[38] The acoustic guitars and folk-based melodies of Vermont were also present.[14] The album recalled the works of Wilco,[3] Guided by Voices, Superchunk, the Flaming Lips, Wheat and the Delgados.[33] The album's title Wood/Water is taken from the opening line of "Become One Anything One Time".[5]

Gnewikow viewed the record as the "older cousin" of Nothing Feels Good (1997). He said recording in England gave the album a positive influence: "The area that we were in was very lush and green and in some ways that's how I see the record, sort of warm and comfortable."[39] Bohlen's vocals were compared to the Kinks frontman Ray Davies;[40] the lyrics tackled the themes of change and re-evaluating one's life.[41] Didier theorised a majority of the lyrics were related to touring, especially in response to touring for Very Emergency.[28]

The opening track "Size of Your Life" opens with a guitar part, which was compared to that heard in "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" by R.E.M., and audio manipulation over Bohlen vocals.[37] The garage rock/pop track[42] overall recalled "Tender" by Blur,[34] while its abrupt keyboard ending drew comparison to Spiritualized.[43] The song sets the lyrical tone for the rest of the album.[34] Street told the band to stand at the other end of the studio and interact with objects: Didier hit a fire extinguisher, Weber opened-and-closed a wooden chest, Bohlen banged two croquet mallets against each other, and Gnewikow played on an upside-down tennis ball can. The resulting sound became the song's percussion track.[15] "Stop Playing Guitar" is a power ballad[33] that showcases Bohlen's ability for storytelling in his lyrics:[36] he describes using more of his time to read books than play with his bandmates.[44] "Suffer Never" sees an predominately acoustic song accompanied by synthesizers and distorted electric guitars,[33] which recalled the band's own earlier material,[45] as well as "Race for the Prize" by the Flaming Lips.[37] "Become One Anything One Time", which was originally called "Wood/Water",[28] features slide guitar; its "la la la" chorus was reminiscent of "Downhill" by Mysteries of Life.[33]

"Wake Up April" opens with a deaden drum machine and a keyboard, as the group shifts from a minor scale to a major scale.[33] It was done in the vein of 10cc,[46] and sees Bohlen pondering what it would be like for him to drink his morning coffee in the afternoon instead.[5] It had a percussion loop that the group had used as a click track; at Street's suggestion, they left it in the final version.[47] The drum pattern and guitar riff of "Get on the Floor" recalled "Death of a Disco Dancer" by the Smiths, which Street had produced. Gnewikow said he was unaware of the comparison, despite him listening to Strangeways, Here We Come (1987) at the time, until people pointed it out to him.[14] "Half Year Sun" is an ambient country song that borrows from the early works of Wilco.[48] The folk rock "My Life Is at Home"[46] was compared to the Beach Boys and Weezer;[49] it is followed by the Mercury Rev-indebted song "Letters to the Far Reaches".[34] The piano ballad "Bread and Coffee"[50] is followed by "Say Goodbye Good", which features the use of phaser effect.[37] With its choir section,[48] the song was compared to a Stereophonics rendition of "Hey Jude" by the Beatles.[34]