Wooden Shjips, Electric Ballroom

For fans of cross-decade post-rock, look out for San Francisco foursome Wooden Shjips, who bring their sun-soaked anthems to Camden's Electric Ballroom this June.

Wooden Shjips are veterans in the psychedelic-rock genre. Formed in San Francisco in 2006, this space quartet’s breezy fuzztone rock recordings are a heavenly combination of two iconic musical decades, the sixties and the nineties. Their unmistakeable West Coast sound is a welcome and refreshing take on the rock genre; rather than rely on heavy guitar chords, Wooden Shjips introduce spacey synth sounds to the mix. 

It is easy to get lost in their hooky electronica riffs, but lyrically and vocally Wooden Shjips are remarkably similar to their elder influencers The Velvet Underground; lead singer and guitarist Ripley Johnson’s voice is as trance-like as the late Lou Reed. A wonderful and eclectic collision of grungy nineties guitar riffs and a more sixties-inspired sound, they fuse Beach Boys melodics with Nirvana hooks. 

Their latest album, Back To Land is a continuation of their sound which has developed through four records. The standout track of the album, These Shadows, grabs attention with its at first seemingly heavy guitar opener, lightened by synths and a simple electric solo which runs throughout.

For fans of Tame Impala and their psychedelic ancestors, Wooden Shjips is the show for you.