dos is the floatiest
The Wooden Shjips recent excursion to the Northwest coincided with the release of their new album “Dos” on the always awesome Holy Mountain label and after an amazing show they laid one on us (a copy of the new album that is). Dos keeps the motorikal grooves grooving with perhaps a tad more emphasis on the tight rhythms and low-end throb. It’s the kind of repetition that gets better and better the more times it swirls around the skull, spiraling down into a whirlpool of squarewaves and vibrato at the center of which Terry Riley collides headlong with the Ramones (or is it Suicide meets the Dead?). The Shjips ride that riff til the sky opens up and that speck way off in the distance has suddenly grown into a mountain.
Those that didn’t get it the first time around (Garsh, these guys are just playing the same durn thing over and over!) may or may not experience that moment of satori wherein the secret is revealed but while this album probably won’t launch the Shjips into the mainstream the chosen few have a new summer anthem.
(The vinyl is in stores now…)
This weekend they will be playing two epic shows, (both w/ Eternal Tapestry) Friday 5/15 at Thee Parkside in SF and Saturday at Maximum Freedom Fest in Woodland, CA.