July 26, 2011

Album Review: Wooden Shjips - 'West'

Down'n'dirty space rock

7 / 10 Oh Ripley Johnson, you greedy bugger. It’s not enough for you that you’ve already frazzled our noggins with the relentless psychedelic rock of ‘Mazes’, the album you made with your paramour Sanae Yamada as Moon Duo, is it? Now you’ve returned with another slice of down‘n’dirty space-rock.

But it’s impossible not to bow down to ‘West’, the third album proper from San Francisco troupe Wooden Shjips. From the visceral splurge of ‘Lazy Bones’ to the laser-guided grooves of ‘Flight’, each looping riff is hammered into submission until it stretches out for miles and miles. As long as he keeps on being this magnificent, Mr Ripley can be as avaricious as he damn well pleases.

Ben Hewitt

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