The Wooden Shjips Thread

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.

shit, would someone really pay $100 for this single
http://www.discogs.com/sell/list?release_id=1278552&ev=rb

i hope not
whole primavera set is up at the free music archive: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Wooden_Shjips/Live_at_Primavera_Sound_Festival_2009_on_WFMU/

look like they're pretty rad live
― tylerw, Wednesday, 8 July 2009 20:46 (1 month ago)

Wooden Shjips are playing here tonight, and that vid has persuaded me to give them a go. I'm not entirely convinced by their recorded output, but I can imagine they'll rock live.

they have a song on the Yeti 7 comp, haven't listened to it yet. Outtake from "Dos," apparently.

ah, thx for reminding me i need to order that Yeti ... would love it if they played my neck of the woods -- that Primavera set I linked to above is pretty sweet, and a bit different from the studio records. Any other live recordings of them floating around? I have the one from ATP last year ...

Worth seeing live. Loved them at Terrastock last year, but they're the perfect band for that sort of thing - unfurl the freak flag a bit and wander around.

they have a song on the Yeti 7 comp, haven't listened to it yet. Outtake from "Dos," apparently.

― Trip Maker, Monday, August 10, 2009 12:15 PM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

also on Yeti 7 is a track by Moon Duo, shjips dude's solo project. there's a moon duo 12" out on sick thirst.

what is moon duo like?

I've got the Moon Duo 12" actually. Didn't notice they had a track on the comp! Moon Duo is just like Wooden Shjips, essentially. Minimal riff jams, one per side. It's pretty cool but not essential.

sounds more like the earlier stuff than the albums to me, but not as good. the little blurb at the store where i bought mine mentioned drum machines or electronics, which made me excited, but it doesn't really deliver on that.
i like listening to it at 33 for extra lenghty jamminess.

I found that Wire review for "dos" unduly harsh, also. That somebody could find the Shjips guilty of all that's wrong with American underground rock is baffling. If I recall, the reviewer seemed to find a cynical careerist vibe about them, a strange accusation for a band that puts out a 7" once or twice a year and gave away the entire first pressing of their debut 10" free to anyone who asked for it.

haha, yeah, if Shjips are careerist, they sure are bad at it.

I don't know, I'm getting pretty sick of seeing articles all over Rolling Stone about them. I mean, Christ, can we go two days without a news item on Pitchfork?

it's true -- just yesterday my mom asked me about them: "Who are these Wooden Shjips and should I buy their limited edition 7-inch on Holy Mountain?"

I thought about seeing them play Wrigley Field next month, but not for 250 bucks a pop.

u read the wire

Well, I'm back from the gig. I happened to stand outside next to the band beforehand, and heard that they were not exactly delighted with the club: it is a *very* hot, sweaty, small club in Berlin, with a tiny stage. They played an hour, roughly - no encore.

Wooden Shjips live are, IMHO, quite like WS on record: they're nice, and they push enough of the psych-garage-rock buttons to be interesting for a while. But they simply don't go far enough to be genuinely thrilling. After an hour they became rather dull.

The best parts of each song were when the guitarist/singer (name?) launched into some Stacy Sutherland-meets-Neil Young soloing. Really quite effective -- more of that would have been welcome.

new moon duo 12" on sacred bones. basically more of the same, but very listenable. I especially like the serene last track, Ripples.
http://www.sacredbonesrecords.com/images/releases/sbr024-front.jpg

psyched for this

http://sacredbonesrecords.com/images/promo/halloween-20091031.gif

171 Lombardy @ Varick in Greenpoint

I would pay money to see that show.

that is tonight btw (for NYers who can't read the small type)

I think it's 12 bucks