W. Shjips Decade's Best According To J. Cocker.

Myth-maker, snappy dresser and the king of music quality control, Jarvis Cocker, listed Wooden Shjips S/t as one of the decade's best 25 albums in Rolling Stone. JC's best song list along with tons of other rock celebrities' lists can be viewed HERE.

Revolver Podcast #18

Somehow Revolver Podcast #18 (from waaay back in August) was overlooked. In this session Uli single handedly tackles 17 releases in 25 minutes! A crash course in: Kevin Blechdom, Capracara, Distance, Eat Skull, Fire On Fire, Juan Maclean, Papercuts, Altar Of Plagues, Amesoeurs, Harvestman, Chord, Mia Doi Todd, Oh Sees, Themselves, Wooden Shjips, Remano Eszildn, and Venetian Snares. You can stream or download an AAC file of this podcast and all other Revolver podcasts at the Revolver pod-page: http://www.midheaven.com/audio/podcast/

For those who track podcast updates using RSS readers, here's our feed: http://www.midheaven.com/audio/podcast/podcast.xml

On iTunes, you can find our podcast at: itpc://http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=281174094

Papercuts, Wooden Shjips & Others Mentioned In Guardian Article.

Jarvis + Shjips = Fillmore Freakout Jam!

It was a wild evening at the Fillmore for the Wooden Shjips. Not only did they open up for Jarvis Cocker but they were called out for a freakout jam at the end of the night. Holy Shjit!

Dos On Dusted.

Doug Mosurock reviews the Wooden Shjips' third full length (second proper album) on Holy Mountain for Dusted.

".... Especially when the center cut, called “Down By the Sea,” marks a milestone – over 10 minutes of rip-shit, stanky caveman beat, the second half of which is occupied by guitar solos so blistering it could be Japanese. It’s the consistency you remember, yet you’re still wondering how they got there at the end, even though so little has changed about the song. It’s a very strong encapsulation of all their strengths. And it could have been a single..."

Read full review HERE.

Shjips Considered An Essential Download By Q Mag.

Sandwiched between Peaches and X-Ray Spex, Wooden Shjips' "Fallin'" is tagged by Q Magazine as one of the Top 50 essential tracks to download for May.

Wooden Shjips' 7.2 Review On Pitchfork.

References to Alan Vega, Krautrock, Terry Riley, even Devo. The Shjips scored a right on P-fork review.

".........Dos goes a long way towards re-igniting Wooden Shjips' fire. Sonically, its five songs aren't as exploding or abrasive as earlier work-- in fact, this is the smoothest-sounding Shjips record so far. But taut energy courses through most of the album's 38 minutes. Bassist Dusty Jermier sticks to variations on the bouncing line he used to fuel the band's first insta-classic, "Shrinking Moon For You". His chugging loops are like a whip-crack, revving the band through their 1960s-licking garage tunes with the momentum of a hurtling 18-wheeler...." Read full review here.

Unreleased Wooden Shjips Holiday Tracks Posted.

Those Wooden Shjips guys are always thinking.... Just for fun the band recorded a couple holiday-themed stompers to send out as a limited cassingle to their friends. For a short period of time the band has graciously posted the two tracks on their website. Check it here. Hjo Hjo Hjo!

Shjips Review on BBC.com

Wooden Shjips
Volume 1
[Holy Mountain]
by Sid Smith
13 June 2008
Original review

The first self-titled album by the oddly named San Francisco drone-rockers was surely one of the great releases of last year; a monumental swirl of shrieking feedback, dub-drenched vocals and mesmeric beats. Prior to this, the band released a series of sought-after singles in 2006, vinyl samizdat spouting the Wooden Shjips lo-fi manifesto, which promptly vanished into cultish collectability almost as quickly as they appeared. Long out of print, they've now been collated into this handy-sized showcase.

A corrosive caterwauling wall of sound, they produce a strange, strained Surf music emanating from a place where an apocalyptic sun glowers down on rolling waves of static, and where amplifiers are permanently cranked all the way up to eleven.

The tightly compacted slabs of sound invoke the spirit of the Velvet Underground but they also touch base with krautrock's cosmic thrum and the murky, often jarring repetition of early minimalism. Space Clothes is a college of spoken words, square-wave abrasions and rattling interference, whilst Death's Not Your Friend madly throbs to a repeating organ note around which ragged shavings of terminally scratched-up guitar chords dance and pound.

Every once in a while lyrics will bubble up out of the gloop, their syllables as oblique and peripheral as smoke, and just as impossible to decipher. Yet for all its intentionally primitive harshness, the music retains a popish sensibility that is oddly accessible.

Dance, California begins like a terminally tangled-up retake of Steppenwolf's Born To Be Wild, whilst Clouds Over Earthquake has Erik 'Ripley' Johnson’s stately guitar rise magnificently from a haze of distortion, sounding like an outtake from Fripp and Eno's No Pussyfooting album. The exhilarating blitzkrieg of Shrinking Moon will get the blood rushing and like everything here, it needs to be played at max when the neighbours are out and animals are out of earshot.

Though I'm not sure that this is quite the thing the recently sainted Neil Diamond had in mind when sang about there being a Beautiful Noise, but it's an apt enough description of what you'll find on this magically impenetrable record.

"We Ask You To Ride"


Upcoming shows:
06/19 Louisville, KY @ Melwood Arts Center (Terrastock 7 Festival)
07/12 Birmingham, UK @ Supersonic Festival
07/13 London, UK @ Cargo
07/18 Brighton, UK @ Barfly
07/19 Bristol, UK @ Croft

Holy Mountain Label Profile In NME.

Holy Mountain bands on tour this summer:

BLUES CONTROL
05/22 Evanston, IL @ Block Museum of Art
05/31 Brooklyn, CA @ Grasslands (w/ Harry Flynt)
06/15 New York, NY @ Cake Shop
06/28 Toronto, ON @ Rancho Relaxo
06/29 Montreal, QC @ Casa del Popolo (Suoni Per Il Popolo Festival)

LESBIAN
0613 Seattle, WA @ Funhouse

OM
05/30 Barcelona, ESP@ Primavera Festival
06/04 Tokyo, JAP @ Shibuya O Nest
06/05 Nagoya, JAP @Huck Finn
06/06 Osaka, JAP @ Sunsui
06/08 Niigata, JAP @ Z-1
06/10 Tokyo, JAP @ Shibuya O Nest

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE
05/21 Zagreb, HRV @ Teatar & Td
05/22 Padova, IT @ Unwound
05/23 Ravenna, IT @ Bronson
05/24 Torino, IT @ Spazio, 211
05/26 Milano, IT @ La Casa 139
05/27 Geneva, CHE @ Kab de L'Usine
05/28 Grenoble, FR @ E.V.E.
05/29 Toulouse, FR @ La Brasserie Pierre
05/30 Barcelona, ESP @ Primvera Sound Festival
06/04 Paris, FR @ Villetet, Sonique Festival

SUISHOU NO FUNE
05/21 San Diego, CA @ Dream Street
05/22-25 Jacumba, CA @ Telemagica 2008 Art & Music Festival
05/26 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
05/27 Oakland, CA @ 21 Grand
05/28 Austin,TX @ Emo's
05/29 Philadelphia, PA @ Khyber
05/30 Brooklyn, NY @ Death By Audio
05/31 Washington, DC @ Velvet Lounge

WHITE/LICHENS
05/21 Manchester, UK @ Tiger Lounge
05/22 Nottingham, UK @ Bunkers Hill Inn
05/23 Northampton, UK @ The Racehorse
05/24 Coventry, UK @ Taylor John's House
05/25 London, UK @ Cafe Oto in Stoke Newington
05/27 Paris, FR @ Mains d'Oeuvres

WOODEN SHJIPS
05/23 Big Sur, CA @ Henry Miller Library
06/19 Louisville, KY @ Melwood Arts Center (Terrastock 7 Festival)
07/12 Birmingham, UK @ Supersonic Festival
07/13 London, UK @ Cargo
07/18 Brighton, UK @ Barfly
07/19 Bristol, UK @ Croft

Mega List of Year End Lists

AKRON/FAMILY Love Is Simple (Young God)
#09 Mojo Magazine top ten underground albums of 2007
#15 Treblezine.com top 50 albums of 2007
#18 "Ed is a Portal" - Treblezine.com top 50 songs of 2007
#80 Paste top 100 albums of 2007
NPR.org Top Ten Genre-Busting Records for 2007

ANGELS OF LIGHT We Are Him (Young God)
#21 Tiny Mix Tapes best album covers of 2007
#49 Cokemachineglow.com top 50 albums of 2007

BEIRUT Flying Club Cup (Ba Da Bing!)
#01 The Mac Weekly 2007: the year in music
#01 Blog Beat top 5 albums of 2007
#02 Reformissionary best albums of 2007
#02 Muzzle Of Bees.com best albums of 2007
#02 BWANK! Blog top ten of 2007
#04 "The Penalty" - Coffeesnorter Blog best videos of the year
#04 Superb Live Blog best albums of 2007
#04 MP7 Blogas top albums of 2007
#05 Criminal Records Blog / Lillian bakers dozen for 2007
#06 Deaf Indie Elephants.com top 20 albums of 2007
#07 Lawrence.com
#07 March on Electric Children Blog top 15 albums of 2007
#09 Pitchfork guest list best of 2007: Rodrigo Gorky
#10 The Sky Report best of 2007 - album of the year
#11 “Flying Club Cup” - It Covers The Hillsides Blog top songs of 2007
#12 Stereogum.com Gummy Awards - best album of 2007
#12 Anyones Guess Blog 14 best favorite recommended albums of 2007
#14 “Guyamas Sonora” How's The Pie? Blog top 25 songs of 2007
#16 Chinese Restaurant In The Forest top 27 of 2007
#17 “The Penalty” - Gorilla Vs. Bear songs fo the year
#17 Musecology Blog the 30 albums - best of 2007
#19 MetaMusic top 50 albums of 2007
#20 Poptarts Suck Toasted Blog top 100 albums of '07
#20 My Old Kentucky Blog: Dodge's favorite 50 albums of 2007
#22 NPR Listeners Pick the Year's Best CDs, From All Songs Considered
#25 Hate Something Beautiful. Com Best of 2007: Best Full-Length Albums
#26 Idolator.com top 50 albums of 2007
#26 Q Magazine top 50 albums of 2007
#26 Bleep.com top 50 albums of 2007
#29 Lines Through Lines Blog top 30 albums of 2007
#36 Treblezine.com top 50 albums of 2007
#37 Uncut Magazine You Rate Uncut's 50 favourite albums of the year
#37 Drowned In Sound top 50 of 2007
#40 Pitchfork top 50 albums of 2007
#40 “Nates” - Propeller music mayhem: Considering the top albums of 2007
#44 Harp Magazine top 50 CDs of 2007
#48 “Nates” - Treblezine.com top 50 songs of 2007
#49 How's The Pie? Blog top 50 albums of 2007
#50 NME Year-End Critics' Polls '07
#58 PopMatters.com best albums of 2007
#65 Boomkat our favourite 100 albums for 2007!
#74 Paste top 100 albums of 2007
Best of 2007 - I'm Just Sayin Is All
The Essential Albums of 2007 - To Die By Your Side Blog
Daily Collegian - Collegian music critics present top albums of 2007
I Was Told There Would Be Bacon Blog top 20 albums of the year
Piccadilly Records top 30 albums of the year
Honorable mention top 25 albums of 2005 Otchster.com
Honorable mention Best of 2007 - AlphabeticalORDER
Honorable mention for top 7 albums of 2007 - MP3Wox.com
Honorable mention top albums of 2007 Sound on the Sound.com
Honorable mention favorite 20 albums of 2007 - Almostcool.org
Runner Up Favorite Albums of 2007 Extravaganza! - MusicWarship.com
“In The Mausoluem” You Set The scene Blog 2007 top ten songs

VASHTI BUNYAN Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind (DiCristina)
#05 Other Music top 25 reissues of the year

PATRICK CLEANDENIM Baby Come Home (Ba Da Bing!)
#17 Almostcool.org favorite 20 albums of 2007

COLLEEN Les Ondes Silenciuese (Leaf)
#21 Boomkat our favourite 100 albums for 2007
#41 The Wire Magazine Top 50 Albums of the year
#44 Stylus Magazine top 50 albums of 2007
#50 Bleep.com top 50 albums of 2007
NPR.org Top Ten Genre-Busting Records for 2007

DEERHUNTER Cryptograms (Kranky)
#01 The Sky Report best of 2007 - album of the year
#03 Sam Fogarino of Interpol (via Filter)
#04 Mike McGonigal (yeti magazine)
#04 Paul Banks of Interpol (via Filter)
#04 Cole Alexander of Black Lips (via Filter)
#05 Tiny Mix Tapes favorite albums of 2007
#11 Drowned In Sound top 50 of 2007
#11 Criminal Records Blog / Lillian bakers dozen for 2007
#14 Pitchfork top 50 albums of 2007
#19 Treblezine.com top 50 albums of 2007
#21 The Wire Magazine Top 50 Albums of the year
#27 Boomkat our favourite 100 albums for 2007!
#31 Stereogum.com Gummy Awards - best album of 2007
#46 "Wash Off" - Pitchfork Top 100 Tracks of the Year Revealed

THE DRAGONS B.F.I. (Ninja Tune)
#29 Bleep.com top 50 albums of 2007

EFTERKLANG Parades (Leaf)
#23 Mojo Magazine Class of 2007
#24 Drowned In Sound top 50 of 2007

FIELD MUSIC Tones of Town (Memphis Industries)
#02 Lines Through Lines Blog top 30 albums of 2007
#17 Mojo Magazine Class of 2007
#29 Drowned In Sound top 50 of 2007
#38 Cokemachineglow.com top 50 albums of 2007
#40 Stereogum.com Gummy Awards - best album of 2007
#40 Q Magazine top 50 albums of 2007
#40 Idolator.com top 50 albums of 2007
#66 Poptarts Suck Toasted Blog top 100 albums of '07

DANIEL HIGGS Ancestral Songs (Holy Mountain)
#03 Mojo Magazine top ten underground albums of 2007

JANA HUNTER There's No Home (Gnomonsong)
#34 “Babies” - Gorilla vs. Bear songs of 2007
#38 Boomkat our favourite 100 albums for 2007!
#98 Poptarts Suck Toasted Blog top 100 albums of '07

ESSIE JANE We Made This Ourselves (Ba Da Bing!)
#12 “Glory” - Little Boy's Choir Blog 2007 Opinion List: Favorite Tracks

KING KHAN & BBQ SHOW What Is? (In The Red)
#33 Pitchfork top 50 albums of 2007

LCD Soundsystem Sound of Silver (DFA)
#01 Uncut Magazine You Rate Uncut's 50 favourite albums of the year
#01 Stylus Magazine top 50 albums of 2007
#01 Drowned In Sound top 50 of 2007
#01 Piccadilly Records top 30 albums of the year
#01 "All My Friends" - Pitchfork Top 100 Tracks of the Year Revealed
#01 Guardian picks of the year 2007's best albums
#02 Pitchfork top 50 albums of 2007
#02 Amazon.com Best of 2007: Top 100 Editors' Picks
#02 Exclaim! Magazine Frequencies: Year in Review 2007
#02 The Sky Report best of 2007 - album of the year
#02 Rhapsody Blog Best of 2007: Electronic/Dance
#02 “All My Friends” - Treblezine.com top 50 songs of 2007
#03 How's The Pie? Blog top 50 albums of 2007
#03 PopMatters.com best albums of 2007
#03 PopMatters.com 10 best Electronic albums of 2007
#03 “Us Vs Them” PROPELLER - Music mayhem: Considering the top albums of 2007
#03 "Someone Great” - Treblezine.com top 50 songs of 2007
#03 Fact Magazine the 20 best albums of 2007
#04 Chinese Restaurant In The Forest top 27 of 2007
#04 "Someone Great” - Clash Magazine top 20 tracks of 2007
#04 Treblezine.com top 50 albums of 2007
#05 Mojo Magazine Class of 2007
#05 Rough Trade Shops top 10 albums of 2007
#05 Time Magazine top 10 albums
#05 Musecology Blog the 30 albums - best of 2007
#05 The Wire Magazine Top 50 Albums of the year
#06 Tiny Mix Tapes favorite albums of 2007
#06 Stereogum.com Gummy Awards - best album of 2007
#07 You Set The scene Blog 2007 top ten albums
#07 "Someone Great" - Pitchfork Top 100 Tracks of the Year Revealed
#07 Entertainment Weekly.com best albums of the year
#08 Los Angels Times / Ann Powers top ten albums of 2007
#09 Muzzle Of Bees.com best albums of 2007
#09 Almostcool.org favorite 20 albums of 2007
#10 "Someone Great” - Delusions of Adequacy10 favorite songs from the year
#11 NME Year-End Critics' Polls '07
#12 Hate Something Beautiful. Com Best of 2007: Best Full-Length Albums
#13 NPR Listeners Pick the Year's Best CDs, From All Songs Considered
#13 "Someone Great” - Gorilla vs. Bear songs of 2007
#15 Reformissionary best albums of 2007
#18 Idolator.com top 50 albums of 2007
#18 Q Magazine top 50 albums of 2007
#22 Paste Magazine top 50 albums of 2007
#33 Cokemachineglow.com top 50 albums of 2007

THE LODGER Grown-Ups (Slumberland Records)
#62 Amazon.com Best of 2007: Top 100 Editors' Picks

MAMMATUS The Coast Explodes (Holy Mountain)
#8 Casey Rae-Hunter -Dusted Magazine

MATTHEW DEAR Deserter (Ghostly International)
#07 Fact Magazine the 20 best albums of 2007
#08 Clash Magazine Top 10 Leftfield Albums of The Year
#10 CMJ RPM charts
#35 Treblezine.com top 50 albums of 2007
#38 "Deserter " - Pitchfork Top 100 tracks of the year revealed
#45 Mojo Magazine Class of 2007
#48 How's The Pie? Blog top 50 albums of 2007
#77 Amazon.com Best of 2007: Top 100 Editors' Picks
"Elementary Lover" - Entertainment Weekly best songs of the year list
Nominated for a Plug Award - Electronic Album of The Year
Pitchfork - Named on multiple staff members Individual Track lists with "Deserter" and "Asa Breed"

MELT BANANA Bambi's Dilemma (A-Zap)
#17 Decibel Magazine top 40 for 2007

MURCOF Cosmos (Leaf)
#05 The Wire Magazine Electronica genre of the year
Honorable mention favorite 20 albums of 2007 - Almostcool.org

NEUROSIS Given To The Rising (Neurot Recordings)
#03 Pitchfork guest list best of 2007: Bruce Lamont, Yakuza
#05 Allmusic Blog favorite metal albums of 2007
#06 Revolver Magazine Top 20 for 2007
#06 Decibel Magazine Top 40 for 2007
#09 PopMatters.com 20 best metal albums of 2007
Nominated for a PLUG Award for Best Metal Album of 2007

PAPERCUTS Can't Go Back (Gnomonsong)
#05 BWANK! Blog top ten of 2007
#05 Pitchfork guest list best of 2007: Beach House
#44 My Old Kentucky Blog: Dodge's favorite 50 albums of 2007
#75 Poptarts Suck Toasted Blog top 100 albums of '07

PINK REASON Cleaning the Mirror (Siltbreeze)
#15 Tiny Mix Tapes favorite albums of 2007

POP LEVI Return To Form Black Magick Party (Ninja Tune)
#15 March on Electric Children Blog top 15 albums of 2007

PYLON Gyrate (DFA)
#03 Other Music top 25 reissues of the year

JAY REATARD Blood Visions (In The Red)
#9 Other Music's Top 25 albums of the year

RIO EN MEDIO Bride of Dynamite (Gnomonsong)
NPR.org Top Ten Genre-Busting Records for 2007

SONIC YOUTH Daydream Nation 4XLP box set (Smells Like Records)
#05 Popmatters.com best reissues of 2007
#05 Mojo Magazine top ten reissues of the year

STARS OF LID And Their Refinement Of The Decline (Kranky)
#10 Cokemachineglow.com top 50 albums of 2007
#12 Almostcool.org favorite 20 albums of 2007
#33 Stylus Magazine top 50 albums of 2007
#43 Pitchfork top 50 albums of 2007

STRATEGY Future Rock (Kranky)
#14 The Wire Magazine Top 50 Albums of the year
#45 Stylus Magazine top 50 albums of 2007

MARK SULTAN Sultanic Verses (In The Red)
#89 Poptarts Suck Toasted Blog top 100 albums of '07

THEE MORE SHALLOWS Book of Bad Breaks (Anticon)
#5 Beth Lisick's 2007 Pick for the SF Weekly

TIMES NEW VIKING Present the Paisley Reich (Siltbreeze)
#53 Poptarts Suck Toasted Blog top 100 albums of '07
#96 "Teenage Lust!" - Pitchfork Top 100 tracks of the year revealed

TORCHE In Return (Robotic Empire)
#09 Exclaim! Magazine Aggressive Tendencies: Year in Review 2007
#34 Decibel Magazine Top 40 for 2007

VALET Blood Is Clean (Kranky)
#01 Mike McGonigal (yeti magazine)
#08 Boston Citypaper

VENETIAN SNARES My Downfall (Original Soundtrack) (Planet Mu)
#30 Bleep.com top 50 albums of 2007

LUKE VIBERT & JEAN-JACQUES PERREY Moog Acid (Planet Mu)
#36 Bleep.com top 50 albums of 2007

WHITE WILLIAMS Smoke (Tigerbeat6)
#11 Chinese Restaurant In The Forest top 27 of 2007
#49 “Violator” - Gorilla vs. Bear songs of 2007
#49 The Sky Report best of 2007 - album of the year
#71 Poptarts Suck Toasted Blog top 100 albums of '07

WHY? The Hollows EP (Anticon)
#13 Daniel Levin Becker Dusted Magazine

WOODEN SHJIPS Shjips S/t (Holy Mountain)
#03 David Frick / Rolling Stone top 5 albums of 2007
#04 Piccadilly Records top 30 albums of the year
#07 Rough Trade Shops Top 10 Albums of 2007
#43 The WIRE Magazine 50 Best albums of 2007

WOODS At Rear House (Shrimper)
#94 Boomkat our favourite 100 albums for 2007!

Wooden Shjips, Colleen, LCD Soundsystem Make It On The Wire's Top 50 List.

Shjips Feature On Drown In Sound.com

DiScover: Wooden Shjips
By Him Tall
Artists: Wooden Shjips
Online feature

San Francisco will probably always struggle to shrug off the 40-year-old 'Summer of Love' weight of history that hangs over one the most beautiful and chilled of US cities. We've had punk, Bay Area thrash metal and hardcore since, but the love and peace era personified by the Haight-Ashbury hippie revolution and the Golden Gate Park 'Be-Ins' of 1967 continue to fascinate.

Recently a handful of bands loosely based in and around the city have taken the free experimental spirit of '60s bands such as the United States of America, the Velvet Underground, Silver Apples, and the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band and filtered their sound through the motorik shuffle of krautrock and the discordance of obscure minimalist composers. I spoke to Wooden Shjips guitarist/vocalist and founder member Ripley Johnson via the magic of e-mail and asked him to explain a few things about their retro-futurist sound.

When I listened to the recent Wooden Shjips track on last month’s Mojo cover-mounted CD I got the track listing mixed up and initially thought I was listening to the early Soft Machine demos when in fact it was your track! Anyway, it piqued my interest being one of only two contemporary tracks on the CD. Is it possible to explain how the band came to be and how its original improvisational style mutated into the band’s sound today?

“Ha ha! I don’t really know much about Soft Machine either, though I’ve read good things. The original plan was to integrate elements of different genres of music: the minimalist movement of the ‘60s and ‘70s, especially the music of Angus MacLise, Terry Riley and John Cale; primitive rock, a la the Velvet Underground, Link Wray, the Seeds; and the improvisation of jazz and psychedelic rock. Originally we just jammed together and felt our way forward. No real songs. We did that for about nine months before playing our first show.”

From an admittedly unseasonably warm autumnal London it's easy to romanticise a San Francisco/West Coast scene in which you're swapping riffs with Howling Rain, Earthless and Assembled Head in Sunburst Sound. Is there any reality to this at all?

“Ha! Unfortunately, no. We opened a Roky Erickson show with Howlin’ Rain earlier in the year, and we have a show with Earthless coming up. That’s about the extent of it so far.”

Whilst referencing some classic ‘60s and ‘70s psych/kraut and experimental bands, your music (to me anyway) seems equally informed by a more ‘80s aesthetic of taking these influences and spinning them (I’m thinking Loop, Spacemen 3, Scientists etc here). Does my shoddy theory have any relevance? I'm not saying you're stuck in the ‘80s!

“Actually, no. We’ve gotten those comparisons before. Obviously, we need to go record shopping. I really like Loop, but it’s a relatively new discovery. I don’t think the other guys have heard any of those bands. I suspect that they were influenced by the same music as us: Velvet Underground, Stooges, 13th Floor Elevators, etc. I think it’s just natural for bands to want to beat a riff into the ground over and over. It’s always been that way. Whether krautrock, or the electric Miles Davis bands, or ? and the Mysterians.”

In this age of blogs and MySpace sites I was, after hearing your track on the Mojo cover mount, able to track down a lot of info about you very quickly. Do you think this loss of any intended or accidental mystique is a good or bad thing?

“It’s just different. I grew up deciphering album covers for little clues about a band, and referencing the Harmony Encyclopaedia of Rock for discographies. Hunting for records used to be more of a sport. If someone really wanted to remain a mystery today, I think they could. It would take a profound commitment. The flipside is that you can be relatively obscure and have a substantial audience. That’s good for everyone.”

You've released some hard to find, over here anyway, singles: is the plan to keep releasing odd singles with various labels?

“Absolutely. How we’ll release them, I don’t know. In some ways it’s easier to do it ourselves because we can keep the overhead low and the turnaround quick. We just co-released one with Holy Mountain to benefit Food Not Bombs. The first pressing proceeds will go to them, the second pressing will go towards our rent. We like that model and are thinking of doing a holiday record in a similar way.”

Could you describe the Wooden Shjips live experience and are there any plans to bring the Wooden Shjips over to Europe/UK to play in the foreseeable future?

“From my perspective on stage, I would describe it as loud and loose. We would love to come to the UK. We’re hoping sometime next year!”

Let’s hope they do! Wooden Shjips’ debut album is released on the mighty Holy Mountain label and is in the shops now.

Words: Him Tall

Shjips On The Rough Trade Shops' Best Of '07 List!

Wooden Shjips falls among the ranks of Panda Bear, M.I.A, Battles, & LCD Soundsystem on Rough Trade's (one of the coolest record stores on the planet) top ten albums of 2007 list. Dance California! Complete top ten.

The Sixth Installment Of The Revolver USA Podcast Is Ready For Your Listening Pleasure.

On the fourth installment of the Revolver USA Podcast you can hear up and coming tracks from such righteous artist as; Octopus Project, Beirut, Pylon, Angels Of Light, Wooden Shjips, Emily Jane White, Pygmy Lush, Lamps, Blue States, Port O'brien, Akron Family, and Torche.

It's super easy to subscribe.

Simply go to http://web.mac.com/revolverusa

And click on the Subscribe Button (You can also hear/view them from that page as well.)

Or cut and paste the following RSS feed into iTunes' Subscribe To Podcast box (or via another podcast aggregator) :


http://rss.mac.com/revolverusa/iWeb/Revolver%20USA/revolver%20usa%20podcasts/rss.xml


Our podcasts will appear on a weekly (or whenever we can get our act together) basis featuring the latest distributed by Revolver USA. They are enhanced podcats featuring album artwork and links to various sites.

Wooden Shjips Reviewed By Left Hip Mag.

Once a one-man recording project, now a fully magnetized psychedelic rock outfit, the Wooden Shjips (pronounced "ships" to you newcomers) are pumping flesh blood into the Bay Area music scene. Below is an early review of their debut full length due out on September 18th. Expect more to come from this mighty band.

Wooden Shjips
Holy Mountain, 2007
Online review

Plodding, droning and psychedelic, San Francisco's Wooden Sjips sound like an impossible mix of brit-pop, garagey swamp rock, and acid-tripping gooeyness. The fact that they are on Holy Mountain should be enough to convince you of their quality - has the label ever mistepped? No, never, impossible.

Solid, repetitive riffs on organ and bass buoy washes of shimmering, treble-on-full nerve-damaged guitars, while incense-and-peppermints Eastern mysticism creeps gently into the soundscape.... Vague and non-committal vocals weave casually in and out of the spectrum. If you took all of the best elements of the sixties and Frankensteined it into a new beast it would sound just like Wooden Ships. Nice stuff.

Gordon B. Isnor

Great homegrown video for 'Dance California'.


And some killer Rallizes-esque live footage!

Wooden Shjips Are Best Of The Bay Material.

The Wood Shjips made it into the San Francisco Bay Guardian's Best Of The Bay 2007 issue under the challenging category of Wavy, Hazy, Raging Jams - way to go dudes. Their debut full length album is due out on Holy Mountain label on Sept.18th. Until then you can catch the Shjips live on August 1st at the Hemlock Tavern in San Francisco, CA.

Best Of the Bay issue July 25th 2007
BEST WAVY, HAZY, RAGING JAMS

Some ships know how to glide in and commandeer a music fest. Exhibit A: Wooden Shjips at this year's South by Southwest, blowing minds and getting Rolling Stone worked up into a frantic, photo-snapping lather with raging psych-fugues and a perpetual guitar boogie machine. Led by guitarist Ripley Johnson, these fellas (along with local sensation Comets on Fire) are bringing sexy guitar solos back, big-time, for listeners who have long eschewed Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. Theirs aren't quite the unquestioned, inevitable jams of yore. Like others of their earache generation, Wooden Shjips were touched by the sharp, urban clamor of first-wave punk and hardcore; indoctrinated in the junkie garage toolshed of Velvet Underground and Nuggets; and then bruised in the mosh pit of Dead Moon and Mudhoney. Solos are undertaken less for posturing effect than to create a space for shrooming experimentation. Hey, that's just the way we like it - and we're not alone, judging from the cult of popularity that's bloomed around the group. Shjips, ahoy.