Wooden Wand
Clipper Ship
Release Date: May 5, 2017
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Indie Folk
Record label: Three Lobed
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Album Review: Clipper Ship by Wooden Wand
Very Good, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
Experimental and ever-shifting singer/songwriter James Jackson Toth capped off a hyper-prolific stint of output from his restless Wooden Wand project with 2014's Farmer's Corner LP. That album was one of several releases Toth and friends created in a few short years, moodily hopping from loud and angsty roots rock to softly demonic experimental folk, channeling influences that ranged from classic ragged-rock figureheads like Neil Young and the Dead to more obscure sonic searchers. Clipper Ship follows a three-year silence after that phase of the project, and unsurprisingly takes Toth's sounds in a completely different direction.
Based on rating 5.5/10
Every outing with Wooden Wand— stage name for James Jackson Toth— is an adventure. His music ranges all over the place, centering around a mix of folk, country, and rock, but not without the occasional detour through psychedelia or free jazz. With that in mind, it's almost a disappointment to find Clipper Ship cleaving closely to the standard folk template.
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