Wooden Wand: Blood Oath of the New Blues (Fire/Southbound)

 |   |  <1 min read

Wooden Wand: Southern Colorado Song
Wooden Wand: Blood Oath of the New Blues (Fire/Southbound)

In the real world “a songwriter's songwriter” usually translates into “respected, but no commercial potential”.

Wooden Wand – aka James Jackson Toth – has been been described as having “that picaresque quality Dylan had in his heyday” by Swans' Michael Gira, and some have cited Neil Young, Springsteen and Cohen in reviews.

Hard to make those references on this album, but he's certainly in a lineage of emotionally probing alt.country writers – Townes Van Zandt in places -- although many might not get there after the opener No Bed for Beatle Wand/Days This Long which runs close to 12 minutes of downbeat rumination.

It's actually very good, but someone who wasn't “a songwriter's songwriter” might have put at the end and kicked off with the more manageable country melancholy and pop-length of Supermoon.

There are few “up” moments here but the weary languor makes for a coherent mood piece, sort of Sunday monring come down music.

Wand/Toth – who has label hopped, perhaps because no one quite knows what do with him – is a distinctive writer with a compelling delivery and a sure, understated melodic touch.

The brooding, poetic track (and title) Outsider Blues sums this up.

Worth investigating.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   Music at Elsewhere articles index

Mdou Moctar: Afrique Victime (Matador/digital outlets)

Mdou Moctar: Afrique Victime (Matador/digital outlets)

Remarkably, it has been more than 15 years since Elsewhere started to write about what has been called “desert blues” or “Sahara blues” out of the Tuareg (and beyond)... > Read more

Edwin Derricutt: Three Hours South (Freefall/Pure)

Edwin Derricutt: Three Hours South (Freefall/Pure)

The debut by this New Zealand singer-songwriter, Symmetry, found immediate favour at Elsewhere a couple of years ago, but this album is big step up in maturity of songwriting and musicality.... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

EPs by Shani.O

EPs by Shani.O

With so many CDs commanding and demanding attention Elsewhere will run this occasional column by the informed and opinionated Shani.O. She will scoop up some of those many EP releases, in... > Read more

EPs by Shani.O

EPs by Shani.O

With so many CDs commanding and demanding attention Elsewhere will run this occasional column by the informed and opinionated Shani.O. She will scoop up some of those many EP releases, in... > Read more