Wooden Shjips
Back To Land

Reaching their fourth studio album (not counting the two singles compilations “Vol. I” and “Vol. II”), the Californians, now residing in Portland, Wooden Shjips.

Always led by the bearded Ripley Johnson and his six-string, sometimes in phaser, sometimes in delay, but always with a high acid rate. Let's make it clear right away by saying that the group's formula, from their 2007 debut to today, has fundamentally remained the same: a stunning and hypnotic mix of Spacemen 3 and Stooges, with a low-fidelity garage/Doors organ holding the melodic lines.

And even “Back To Land” follows these guidelines, although, let's admit it, the feeling is of a better focus on the tracks (something that had already begun in the previous “West”). We are obviously talking about minimal differences, noticeable by attentive ears accustomed to these sounds; for any other listener, the differences between the six Wooden albums could easily be zero.

Perhaps the reason for this focus (still relative, of course, in the economy of a group that makes the mind-blowing effect its core) lies in the slightly more defined sounds, perceived already from the initial title track, where one can incredibly understand what Ripley is singing (an impossible feat in any of the previous records, drowned as it was in reverb). Along the same lines are tracks like “Ruins” and “Servants”, mid-tempo mantras, trademark of the band but also difficult to distinguish from many others written in the past.

Interesting, however, are the moments that deviate from their typical track, and fortunately, this happens in at least half of the 8 tracks of “Back To Land”: the upbeat rhythms of “Ghouls”, “In The Roses” and “Other Stars” almost hardcore by the band's standards, a similar ballad like “These Shadows” with acoustic in the background and an indolent guitar à la 13th Floor Elevators, and the final “Everybody Knows”, a track with a strange indie rock flavor but with the usual hyperacid touch of the guitar.

In conclusion, slightly above “West”, but a slight sense of “déjà-vu” that could exponentially worsen the judgment over time.