The Wood Brothers finally stepped out of Medeski Martin & Wood’s shadow with 2013’s The Muse, emerging as one of the Southeast’s premier Americana acts. With their follow-up Paradise, the group has cemented their reputation. Guitarist Oliver Wood’s voice would be captivating regardless of the songs he had to work with, but the trio wrote a slew of great new tracks together and it shows. Eclectically American, the band incorporates almost every iconic genre—from R&B to zydeco, the blues to gospel—and appear at jazz, string and folk festivals alike. This album embraces rock, especially with bassist Chris Wood on electric. Multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix plays shuitar (a hybrid guitar/percussion instrument) and melodica on “Heartbreak Lullaby,” which chronicles the many masks that dysfunction wears. “Without Desire” partially explains why each mask manages to allude us. “American Heartache,” about never being content with what we have, puts some of that blame on capitalism. “Two Places” chronicles the joy of being in one place while longing for another. “Never And Always,” featuring Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, explores the never-ending search for salvation. The last track, “River Of Sin,” offers a false sense of baptism from all our wrongdoing. Eventually, the Shangri-La you initially envisioned fades: Paradise sounds just like purgatory.