Wooden Shjips – Back to Land

Wooden Shjips have come out with their latest album, entitled Back to Land, and it takes you on a journey back to the days of psychedelia and full-form disconnect from pop culture today. This fourth record takes on the challenge of filling the shoes of predecessors from late 60s California, and the band make the genre their own. Back to Land will take you on a journey, song through song, with remnants of the stoic sound of Jim Morrison twisted with Andy Warhol’s project The Velvet Underground. It’s essentially the love-child of both the underground and Woodstock scene of the 60s.

The album opens with a strong guitar kick and follows through with melodic, kaleidoscopic sounds that echo through your speakers in title track Back to Land.

Lead singer Erik “Ripley” Johnson embodies the sound of the distant and artistic Jim Morrison; the material replicates the discontent many avant-garde musicians relayed in their music. Ghouls is aptly named for its haunting sound, with each song surrounding it strategically placed and different from the last. These Shadows is by far the album’s stand-out track, with a softer sound than its peers and a sweet bluesy guitar solo that rips into your sweet spot at the four-minute mark. It leaves you reeling for more just when the song ends and transitions into In the Roses, which introduces itself with heavy guitar.

Back to Land is easily the band’s call-back to unite the psychedelic and avant-garde sounds of the 60s.  Wooden Shjips have certainly defined their sound further since previous album West. While most psychedelic music glides from one song into the next, Back to Land ensures each song stands on its own – you know when one ride is over and when to hop onto the next.

 

Ashley Melchiorre

Back to Land was released on 11^th November 2013. For further information or to order the album visit the album’s website here.