Wooden Shjips, spelled with a “j” to make it look like they were Swedish (a la tennis star Björn Borg) instead of from San Francisco, have a major influence you’d never figure out, even if you had a thousand guesses. Although people always peg them as disciples of the Velvet Underground or Suicide, which they are, or the Scientists and Spacemen 3, whom they’ve never heard, it’s obscure Swedish jam band Trad, Gras Och Stenar (Trees, Grass And Stones) that gets their blood boiling. “They were like the Grateful Dead meets the Velvet Underground, and you know that has to be a really good idea,” says Texas Chainsaw Massacre-like guitarist/vocalist Eric “Ripley” Johnson. On September 13, Thrill Jockey will release West, the first album Wooden Shjips recorded in a proper studio. The foursome will support the Phil Manley-produced LP with a West Coast tour starting August 18 in the band’s hometown. Download album track “Lazy Bones” below.
“Lazy Bones” (download):
