Older Wooden Shjips (i.e., by “old” I mean songs like ‘We ask you to ride’ from 2007) gives me the feeling of listening to a modern day psychedelic Doors clone. Their sound is always appealing, raw, and rocking. With their experimental sound taking some songs over 10 minutes, it is not necessarily for the short attention span. Their repetitive groove makes excellent traveling music or music to put on and do some work.

Their recent album Dos was released last month, with 5 songs totaling over 38 minutes. It offers a lot of the same style that their fans require with just a bit more volume and a harder push for rock. The rippin’ guitar of Ripley Johnson on the 11 minute “Down By The Sea” brings me back to some Mermen I used to listen to in the mid-nineties. Repetitive, creative, musical. Overall I think Dos is pretty good, however I do feel the stuff off of their 2007 self-titled release is still the best (check out ‘We ask you to ride’ below).

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MP3: Wooden Shjips :: “Motorbike”

** Off of “Wooden Shjips” self-titled album **

MP3: Wooden Shjips :: “We Ask You To Ride”

I became a Soft Pack fan (FKA – ‘The Muslims’) when I heard their single “Parasites”. The song reminds me of some underground alternative rock I used to listen to when I was a kid.

Their normal sound has a great indie punk rock vibe, however there were a couple acoustic versions of their songs I caught up with a few months back that showed me a different side of their music. These versions of “Red Headed Girl” and “Call it a Day” (off of their EP they titled ‘The Muslims’) are down-right scrumptious. Also checkout their MySpace page (The Soft Pack) for “Parasites” and some of their other songs.

MP3: The Soft Pack :: “Call It A Day”
MP3: The Soft Pack :: “Red Headed Girl”

Hello All! My name is Dave and I have a music problem. I can’t stop listening to music, finding new music, reading about music, etc. My online moniker is oZriic (anyone know where that name came from?) and I usually post on my music blog SidVision. My blog has become more of just a place for personal notes and song sharing for friends / family at this point, so it is pretty cool that PJ has given me another outlet for posting (especially a site that gets a lot more readers). Thanks PJ!

Anyway, on to a group that I have been listening to a lot lately. . .
Little Joy is a smooth tasting side-project of the Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti, along with Rodrigo Amarante of Brazilian indie band ‘Los Hermanos’, and Binki Shapiro providing soft sweet vocals on a few songs (like the incredible “Unattainable”). These guys have a likable, retro, Latin-flavored sound. As I listen, I can’t help but daydream about sipping cool summer drinks while relaxing in a comfy hammock.

Their self-titled debut album came out at the end of last year and seems to be slowly picking up momentum. Chill out and listen to “The Next Time Around” and “No One’s Better Sake”. Let me know what you think.

MP3: Little Joy :: “The Next Time Around”
MP3: Little Joy :: “No One’s Better Sake”