Harem of the Sundrum and the Witness Figg (5RC)
After much scouring of the world wide web, I was
unable to find the real name of the man who calls
himself Wooden Wand. It was unavailable on the artist’s website,
the website of the label (5RC), and it was also absent from the
liner notes of his new full-length put out by that label. For an
artist so seemingly cloaked in mystery, the music on this disc is
surprisingly bare and simple.
Apart from the Vanishing Voice and the Sky High band, both of which
he is a member, WW deals us a hand of solo subdued folk that remains
dark throughout. The freak-folk pipeline is steadily flowing, and it
yields equally turds and diamonds. There is a little too much wah
pedal here to be a diamond, but the lyrics are too great to be a
turd. So Wooden Wand, though he may be lumped in with the
druggy jack-offery of Sunburned Hand of the Man and the
beard-clogged sink of Devendra Banhart, has proved enough on this
disc that he should still be around in five years when all of his
contemporaries have pawned their guitars for peyote.
George Viebranz
Posted under Hometown
This post was written by Denny on September 5, 2006
