Wooden Wand / Death Seat

Young God

LP VERSION INCLUDES FREE DOWNLOAD COUPON!!!

James Jackson Toth, a.k.a. Wooden Wand, is your fearless friend, the stumbling guy who gets himself into incredibly fucked up situations but comes out shining and lives to tell about it, entertaining you safely and immensely. You should be grateful. In my view, he's a great American songwriter in full bloom. Most likely you'll think that's a preposterous claim, and I won't blame you, but you'll be totally, completely, and unforgivably wrong not to agree. To me, it's obvious Toth is animated with the same spirit that's moved through Willie, Waylon, Merle, and Hank. Not to say he sounds like them, but his songs unfurl with a similar casual authority. There's no space between who he is and the work he does--never without a guitar, and always writing, listening to, or seeking out new music. He's inhabited. I laugh out loud when I hear some of the lines in these songs--they're just so immediate and vivid. The pathos can leave you drained, but the language and the singing is effortless and without loaded portent--it goes down smooth. Really, were Nashville still a place where one could peddle great songs, Toth would be the king of the place. He's a passionate singer and guitar player and inhabits the songs as he performs them with straightforward, unpretentious and confident gravitas. Toth has previously released records with Kill Rock Stars and Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace label, and Lee Renaldo produced one of them. He also had a sad slide with Ryko Records. When I heard the latter record, I could not believe how good it was and I was pissed off and saddened that it did not do right by James. These songs are a flat-out pleasure to listen to, and each one brings further rewards on repeated listening. Last time I talked to him, he was laying floors in Murfreesboro, TN. He is not a hipster, that is for sure, and God bless him. The songs are literate, and there's a painful irony in some of them, but the level of commitment and sweet passion is rare, and born of hard-earned experience. Listen to his music! --Michael Gira, Young God Records

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