See ya in a while

I'm leaving for Montreal in an hour or so, and will probably not post for the rest of the week. Meanwhile, here are a couple of short items from this week's Philly Weekly.

A review...

Wooden Shjips
Vol. 1 (Holy Mountain)
Rating: Solid, like the Liberty Bell.
Feedback-glazed juvenilia from the SF psych-rock foursome, Vol. 1 collects early material so minimally released that, up to now, you pretty much had to know the band to have it. These cuts are less fussed-over and heavier than last year’s self-titled debut, like early Bardo with a beat. “Shrinking Moon for You” is all buzz-sawed, circling guitar distortion, swinging pendulously from note to note, while “Death’s Not Your Friend” adds the pingpong trippiness of keyboards and Doors-reverbed psyched-out vocals. “SOL ’07” rides a monolithic groove, trumpets blaring, organ wailing, until it stops, dead-halt, like the tape ran out. (Jennifer Kelly)

The Wooden Shjips' "Dance, California"


Also a show preview...

Dwele
Wed., July 30, 7:30pm. $25-35. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. 215.222.1400. www.worldcafelive.com

If Dwele’s velvety tenor—in his words “just like sex/ except you don’t need no damned protection”—sounds familiar, it might be because he’s upped the pheromone content in big hits like Common’s “The People” and Kanye West’s “Flashing Lights.” He’s also got four highly regarded solo albums to his credit. The just-released Sketches of a Man both updates and upends classic R&B with its pulsing slow-dance rhythms, lush singing and incisive lyrics. Highlight “I’m Cheatin’” is an interlocking puzzle of a song—on the surface another man-can’t-help-it tale of infidelity, but underneath a story about reinventing long-term relationships. (Jennifer Kelly)

Here's the video to "I'm Cheatin'"


Back Monday, have a good week.