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June 21, 2005
and there was something about a rabbit-duck
Wooden Wand - Sundrum Ladies
Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice - Risen from the Ashes
I love it when an artist works in such a way that it seems like making music is almost a by-product of normal biological processes; where the generation of songs is as effortless and natural (and essential) as breathing in and out (this reminds me a little bit of what Josephine Foster says in 'Little Life', her song on "Golden Apples of the Sun", about 'songs arrive/even in the mailbox'- like she couldn't even stop them from coming if she wanted to). Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice have a discography that suggests they are the kind of people who have songs just falling out of their pockets (and that is a good thing, in this case).
For starters, WWVV have 3 records coming out soon. The first is "XIAO"** on Troubleman Unlimited (which I think is out today, actually), then there's "Buck Dharma" on 5RC on August 23rd, then there's a Wooden Wand solo album, "Harem of the Sundrum & The Witness Figg", which should be out soon on Soft Abuse. And that's insane, but check this out: Troubleman Unlimited will release "The Flood" in November, and 5RC will release "Gipsy Freedom" in February '06. WWVV make Ryan Adams look like a lethargic perfectionist (plus, you know, WWVV's music is actually good).
'Risen from the Ashes' is taken from the forthcoming "Buck Dharma", and it is somehow both caustic and gossamer (like a sabretooth butterfly? no, um...how about like a bubble bath that's just a few degrees north of the perfect temperature?), which is due to the absolutely sky-scraping electric guitar towers constructed to buttress the fine, ribbony intonations of the female singer's voice. Forget what I said before about the link between Black Mountain and Amon Duul II- this song establishes a direct link between the German collective and WWVV, no denying it.
And as much as I like 'Risen from the Ashes', 'Sundrum Ladies' is just jaw-droppingly pretty. Think Folkways records, think sitting in a green summer field full of Queen Anne's Lace, think a temperate sunset with a playful breeze. There is nothing complicated about this song, technically- but James Jackson Toth creates a thick and enveloping narrative atmosphere, with just his voice, a simple acoustic pattern, and a sinister (sneaky) violin. My favroite part of this song is the way Toth says, "Okay" right before starting each verse, as if he's trying to explain a particularly salient part of the story to an inattentive audience. "Quick modulations in a crystalline sky/quiet recollections and the wine/putting new ideas into your spine", nice words indeed.
Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice are on tour, starting yesterday, with the Castanets and the Skygreen Leopards (also, at later points in July with I Heart Lung), so check the 5RC band page for details on that. You can order "Xiao" from Insound right here; don't forget that, starting today (and going for a while), Insound is giving new customers 25% off their orders! You have to be a brand new customer though- so if you're already an established Insound-junkie, maybe you should take Catbirdseat's advice.
**(which, if I remember my Chinese correctly, is 'small', but depending on the accent it could actually translate as like 28 other things as well)
Posted by Kevin at June 21, 2005 01:29 PM
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