Wooden Shjips – Back to Land (2013) review
Wooden Shjips “Back to Land” (Thrill Jockey, 2013)
Wooden Shjips, San Francisco’s neo-psychedelic hippy-dippy
pirate band have been around long enough to be the centerpiece of hazy inspired
legends, half-truths, and enough rumors to fill Owsley’s chemistry set twice
over … so, let me set the story straight, or perhaps fuel the fires and fan
the flames of these high flying midnight musical alchemists.
pirate band have been around long enough to be the centerpiece of hazy inspired
legends, half-truths, and enough rumors to fill Owsley’s chemistry set twice
over … so, let me set the story straight, or perhaps fuel the fires and fan
the flames of these high flying midnight musical alchemists.
Now … given the right atmosphere, you might get vocalist
and founder of Wooden Ships, Ripley Johnson, to admit that back in 2003 he was
still on the hippy trail, not in search of fortune or fame, but for musicians
who could share his vision for crafting acid laced tunes filled with distortion
in much the same vein as The Velvet Underground had done … though replacing
the speed induced edges with a softer more melodic trance inducing trippy
haze. And while he wasn’t necessarily
looking for brilliantly talented musicians, those are exactly what showed up on
his doorstep, talented outcasts of the music industry who’d been raised on
lo-fi droning sojourns into the nether regions of the subconscious.
and founder of Wooden Ships, Ripley Johnson, to admit that back in 2003 he was
still on the hippy trail, not in search of fortune or fame, but for musicians
who could share his vision for crafting acid laced tunes filled with distortion
in much the same vein as The Velvet Underground had done … though replacing
the speed induced edges with a softer more melodic trance inducing trippy
haze. And while he wasn’t necessarily
looking for brilliantly talented musicians, those are exactly what showed up on
his doorstep, talented outcasts of the music industry who’d been raised on
lo-fi droning sojourns into the nether regions of the subconscious.
As luscious and enticing as their previous releases have
been, Back To Land sees the band pulling together all they’ve learned, and
creating one of the most cohesive hallucinogenic bodies of work you’re ever
going to treat your wayward ears to. The
songs move together, they rise with the sun and set with the moon, though not
always in that order … and if you happen to stumble onto their acoustic
version of “These Shadows,” you’ve just added an extra day to your week. But what separates this release from their
others, is the length of the tracking, where each song has been crafted to
clock in at around five minutes. And
what five minute sonic gems these are, proving that capturing the essence is
always rewarding, and certainly allows for expansive gestures while preforming
live. Here, Wooden Shjips don’t weigh
you down or bake your brain into submission … Back To Land gives you room to
breathe, and a chance to raise your head into the clear air of the stratosphere
before diving headlong into the narcotic laced psychedelic waves and
wobbly-headed loopings that are so very satisfying.
been, Back To Land sees the band pulling together all they’ve learned, and
creating one of the most cohesive hallucinogenic bodies of work you’re ever
going to treat your wayward ears to. The
songs move together, they rise with the sun and set with the moon, though not
always in that order … and if you happen to stumble onto their acoustic
version of “These Shadows,” you’ve just added an extra day to your week. But what separates this release from their
others, is the length of the tracking, where each song has been crafted to
clock in at around five minutes. And
what five minute sonic gems these are, proving that capturing the essence is
always rewarding, and certainly allows for expansive gestures while preforming
live. Here, Wooden Shjips don’t weigh
you down or bake your brain into submission … Back To Land gives you room to
breathe, and a chance to raise your head into the clear air of the stratosphere
before diving headlong into the narcotic laced psychedelic waves and
wobbly-headed loopings that are so very satisfying.
Review made by Jenell Kesler/2014
© Copyright http://psychedelicbaby.blogspot.com/2014
