This is the third album from psychedelic rock band Wooden Shjips, this four piece from San Francisco have been around for five years and with this their third release and a couple of solid releases before it the band has been starting to build a following. This album seems like a no brainer for me to like, I'm a fairly big Psych rock fan so this seems like something I'd dig not to mention I enjoyed the first two.
Unsurprisingly I am a huge fan of this, I love the unkept dirty sound that this album produces. The bass lines are distorted to fuck, such a cool rough sound being produced, the fuzzy rock sounds being produced are so good. The album starts very distorted with the track Black Smoke Rise the organ that joins in gives the song a very Doors feel, not over organed like them though. The backing music is very patient not to go over the top during the vocals which are quite chilled out and Morrison like. (yeah it reminds me of The Doors)
The albums to me can be separated into two parts of why I really like it, one of them is that the overall patient in the tracks is amazing, the instruments take their time to develop the sounds. sound growing and the moments when the solos hit are so powerful and slightly over the top. Another part I love of this album is the fuzzy, distorted raw sounding music, the almost drone like distortion that sits on top of the tracks as the layers of organ and guitar change throughout the tracks.
I found tracks like Home to have some southern rock influence to them more than the psych rock sounds that were far more apparent on the earlier tracks. The distortion is turned down a little on this track and the guitar is far more of a southern/classic rock sound. My favourite track on the album would have to be that of Flight the longest on the album, the layers this song has and the overall patient in how it develops is really cool. The Organ carries the track with the maraca the guitars explore throughout the song and this is the best psych track on the album.
Overall this album has some great riffs, the production is fuckin great also. The overall sound of the album to me is really cool and as a big Psych fan its definitely worth listening to this album. There are parts of this album that sound a little samey at times but the distortion and patience this album shows when developing sounds is enough for me to look past these problems.
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
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