The Wooden Shjips Thread

much love for w.s.

SHRINKING MOON FOR YOU

^^ this

When bandleader Ripley Johnson put the band together in 2003 he wasn't interested in playing gigs or becoming famous. His original intention was to find a group of non-musicians and create music with them. The idea was that untrained players would have a brand new outlook on what music is and bring something fresh to the table, perhaps a blend of the often noisy trance rock of the Velvet Underground and the frenetic mania of the one-hit wonder garage punks of the early '60s. Bassman Dusty Jermier, for example, was originally recruited to play sax, an instrument he'd never picked up before. Other members from that first incarnation often had such a lack of interest in playing live for people the band didn't even bother looking for gigs.

u dudes like that magic lantern album on not not fun? lands somewhere between the shjips and endless boogie, actually. it's unexpectedly worth checking out

New album titled Dos to be released April 14th. Looking forward to this very much.

well, it's around..

Nice..will search for it

As regards style, I can understand the Rallizes comparison from what I've heard. But the one album I have of Wooden Shjips is utterly bland (the s/t LP on Holy Mountain). The only good track on it is the last one (no pun intended, Rallizes fans).

Is this album commonly seen as their weak one? In other words should I give them another chance?

i think the compilation 'volume 1' is superior, but it doesn't sound drastically different to the album, so i think if you're not keen on that, it's not going to change your mind really

ps can anyone sort me out with a link to the new one, can't find it anywhere!

i think most ppl agreed the singles before the album were superior (compiled on Volume 1)

So Wooden Shjips are to psych-rock what The Strokes are to NY post-punk?

That was rather facetious. But I feel they are simply a bland retread of something I hold dear.

early stuff (volume 1): loop/spacemen 3 fuzz dronin

album: rallizes (basic channel reshape)

can't wait to hear the new one.

its good. lies somewhere in between those ^^

I'm not liking the new one that much. I only liketwo of the five..."Motorbike" and "Down by the Sea" are pretty good, and the rest are forgettable. I might have to comeback to this later, but for now -- meh

the new one is more like the singles ("loop/spacemen 3 fuzz dronin") with the suicide american-anglo motorik amped up. "motorbike" could be "ghost rider 2009"

yeah i think its better than the 1st album.

i don't. it's good, but the kind of dryness of it is a little too much. it'll probably grow on me, but i was really hoping for a whole album like the b-side of the 7". god i love that track.

Sounds good to me so far. Looking forward to hearing this!

it's good, but the kind of dryness of it is a little too much.

yeah the production on this seems to be restraining their signature sound

the "e-z" version of "i hear the vibrations" on the b-side of the contact 12"... WOW. the build of the droning organ and guitar is beautiful. i need to find a good rip of the original.

Wow. Dos sucks. I mean, that could be a little harsh...

yeah? i like it well enough ... I think these guys are good -- maybe not as great as Aquarius Records would have you believe, but I do love the guitar playing.

I guess because there doesn't seem to be any evolution? Could just as well be demo from before their first record? It doesn't "suck" but man oh man it doesn't "rule." I wanted it to.

I like it.

Well dos endorsements! I'll spin the motherfucker again I guess.

Let me ask you two...are you guys...ya know...doing anything "special" before ya listen to it?

no

Oh. Because that I could see.

well, im eating an ice-lolly.

but nothing special about it.

Wouldn't say it sucks at all, slightly disappointing but the second listen sucked me in more than the first. The final track is by far my favorite though.

its good. its exactly the same as their other stuff.

I think after being initially disappointed by the 1st album after the previous releases, I just realised they wouldnt make anything earth shattering but would make some enjoyable music.

the "evolution" comment is funny though - like, its okay for some bands not to evolve (AC/DC, ZZ Top, the Ramones, Motorhead, etc.) but on the other hand bands are routinely faulted for "evolving" too much (perennial "I like their old stuff better" complaints etc.) As if there's an ideal narrative arc bands should stick to in their careers, and if they deviate too far from it then they suck.

Well, yeah dude. They're Shjips. They're going somewhere...

*boom-tish*

I still haven't revisited this album yet.

they could prove me wrong, but they don't seem to be the kinda band that would "evolve" -- the whole point is single-mindedness right? only big shakeup i could see is maybe upgrading to a more pro studio sound. but that might ruin it, make it sound like Black Rebel Motorwhatever or something. As for the other question, I've drunk some beer while listening.

Yeah I mean I wasn't expecting a major shift in sound or anything...
I don't really know what I was expecting.

the wire had a pretty brutal review of dos that essentially called them out for being low-effort and unoriginal. that would not really bother me normally but for this band it did give me pause.

oh I think a lot of effort goes into this. "single-mindedness" absolutely. I don't really have any use for "originality" esp considering the stuff they're ripping off is pretty great

yeah, lack of effort is a weird criticism ... even though a lot of their tunes are one chord, they actually seem kinda hard to play. I don't think i could do it.

people always seem to underestimate how hard it is to play really simple, repetitive music. that shit is tiring!

speaking of which (sorta) are they looping the drums in some of these songs? or is the drummer just doing it? if it's the latter, dude is a machine.

i'd love to find a drummer who was happy doing that dumbass rock solid beat all the live long day

^^^me too

yeah i appreciate those points but i guess the fact that they arrived pretty much fully formed sort of makes me wonder, i'm not even sure about what but the particular criticism for the particular band just kind of struck a chord w/me.

look like they're pretty rad live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3pMS6dZi70

wish the record i had sounded that good.