DOS

EP number two from the psychedelic sons of the City by the Bay didn't tinker with their formula by a single whit, jot or musical iota. You can expect to hear the same hypnotic one-chord rhythms and far-out guitar solos: Acid Rock where the music itself is the only true drug. The tempos may vary; a brief instrumental chorus might be included; but the unblinking focus of the band's collective vision remained intact.

The difference between the two recordings was an upsurge of energy and purpose. From the exhilarating momentum of 'Motorbike' it's clear this was a louder, looser, more confident Shjip, liberated from the somewhat tentative explorations of their earlier session. The almost eleven-minute 'Down by the Sea' best captures the newfound madness of their unwavering method, driven by an endless acid-tab guitar solo over an even more inflexible groove than usual, approaching their seaside destination on a razor-straight six-lane highway, pedal to the metal and all four wheels off the pavement.

In truth the band had evolved (a little), but strictly within the narrow constraints of their own limited neo-Krautrock style. Those spiky guitar accents in 'For So Long' back unwittingly into bleak Post Punk terrain, sounding like something Martin Hannett might have produced in Manchester, circa 1980. Meanwhile the EP closer 'Fallin'' actually uses two (!) chords, and both in a major key, suggesting the promise of good times ahead.

To a newcomer any Wooden Shjips album would be a good starting point: they all more or less sound the same, by design. But in these five songs the Shjips were sailing with full canvas for the first time, running before a steady wind.