The Wooden Shjips Thread

*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

i will be there (after work.)

is it gonna be crazy crowded cause of the vivian girls? i can't really work out how popular they are.

New Wooden Shjips single - a cover of Spacemen 3's "I Believe It" http://www.cargorecords.co.uk/release/9538

hm, would've never thought these guyz like Spacemen 3

is it gonna be crazy crowded cause of the vivian girls? i can't really work out how popular they are.

I dunno, I doubt it will be THAT bad

I was afraid No Age was gonna be crazy crowded a couple weeks ago at "Above the Auto Parts Store" but that space was huge, hoping this place will be similar

saw Vivian Girls and Crystal Stilts at Silent Barn last year and it was packed but doable (that place was pretty small)

I will be there in my last minute assembled MF Doom costume so if you see a guy in a hoodie and a mask ~~

http://www.apexresourcegroup.com/images/Halemet_2.jpg

thought the Shjips killed it last night.

whole show was pretty great. Viv Girls much better than last time I saw em. guess I need to check out their new one. Crystal Stilts were good too.

fave costumes spotted: Moondog (of course), Otto from Simpsons, Dia de Los Muertos girl

Anyone heard the new Moon Duo LP? It gets a really good write up on the Norman Records site

it's ok. pretty much the same as the last one. only listened to it once, though.

i see that wooden shjips are putting out a second volume of singles. it will probably be cheaper than the mexican summer ep.

The Moon Duo thing is very good listening if you like Wooden Shjips. It's silly expensive though (in the UK). Less than half an hour long and we have to sell it for £13.99. Hmmm.

I like the Moon Duo album, but, uh, the trick is probably going to get old pretty quick if they don't stop doing Shjips-via-Suicide for every song.

^ yup

I like the Moon Duo album, but, uh, the trick is probably going to get old pretty quick if they don't stop doing Shjips-via-Suicide for every song.

― international slackness (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Tuesday, 16 February 2010 02:41 (6 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Yeah that's why I'm always hesitant about buying new wooden shjips/moon duo stuff, I already have the debut album & volume 1, really like em, but maybe their new stuff seems TOO similar to justifying spending £13-16 on it when I could be getting something more varied.

Having said that, I will definitely be picking up volume 2 because I missed out on 'Contact' first time round

I'm definitely buying Vol. 2. Even though I already burned pretty much that exact same tracklisting (plus the holiday songs).