Wooden Shjips are an amalgam of just about every psychedelic acid rock band you may care to mention.
By now you probably know the drill - stoner vocals, repetitive guitar groove, trippy organ effects, steady rhythm section.
While none of the nine tracks on West go beyond seven minutes there's the sense that left to their own devices they'd keep playing until they drop.
At just 38 minutes fans of their earlier releases have every right to feel slightly short-changed especially as this is the first time they've had the luxury of using a proper studio (previously they recorded in a rehearsal studio).
You might have expected the band to let rip and go for broke but, as it is, they have made a disciplined album that sounds like an underground band coming to terms with mainstream expectations.
On top of that it is even promoted as a concept album of sorts. The four musicians are based in San Francisco but all are originally from the East Coast. The tracks here are said to embrace the mythology, romance and idealism that drew them westwards. Since you can't actually hear most of the words, you have to take this on trust.
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The four-minute Lazy Bones is the Shjips are their most compressed and to hear them in more expansive mood you should skip to the she sprawling, and beautifully laid-back Flight.
On other tracks, Home serves as a clear homage to Neil Young and Crazy Horse while the closing track Rising is the weirdest with the vocals reversed making them bear an uncanny resemblance to The Stone Roses.
It's a good solid record but too restrained for my liking - somebody should pay to get them to record a triple live album.
Wooden Shjips' Website
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