Wand - 1000 Days

  by Anthony Strutt

published: 8 / 9 / 2015

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Review

'1000 Days', the third album on their third label in just thirteen months, was recorded in between tour dates by Wand in San Francisco and their native Los Angeles. 'Golem', their third album, which was released in March, was a popular album in Rough Trade. 'Grave Robber', which opens the album, is out-of-your-skull psychedelia. Cory Hanson's vocals are heavenly, while the instruments are hard and floating. 'Broken Sun' has a lonely John Lennon-shaped vocal. The song is almost a lament, very slowly delivered in the style of 'The White Album' from 1968 but as it progresses it becomes angry and heavy. 'Painting Gadd' is very British in favour and starts off sounding like the Kinks, but it soon speeds up and becomes a Beatles-flavoured grunge number. 'Dungeon Dropper' is full of gloom with a vocal from Cory a shade darker then Syd Barrett, but just as mad and quirky. 'Dovetal' is tribal, mostly based around drums and wind-like howls. The title track sounds like a combination of Donovan and 1965/1966 Beatles, and as it moves on it becomes more mystical. 'Lower Order' is a freak-out track and total head mess, and then as it turns up the pace it becomes a grunge classic. 'Sleepy Dog' is reminiscent in its swirling sound of Toy but dance-based and with a harder edge. 'Stolen Footsteps' is keyboard-based and in early Pink Floyd territory. It is like falling down the rabbit hole to a new world of adventures. 'Passage of the Dream' is fine and 60's-influenced dreamy pop. 'Little Dreamer' is fast, thrashy and very short. 'Morning Rainbow' is soft and acoustic, stripped down to a vocal and an acoustic guitar, before a lead guitar bleeds loving all over it. A delightful album.

Track Listing:-

1 Grave Robber
2 Broken Sun
3 Paintings Are Dead
4 Dungeon Dropper
5 Dovetail
6 1000 Days
7 Lower Order
8 Sleepy Dog
9 Stolen Footsteps
10 Passage of the Dream
11 Little Dream
12 Morning Rainbow

Band Links:-

http://wandband.info/

Label Links:-

http://www.dragcity.com/
https://twitter.com/dragcityrecords
https://www.facebook.com/dragcityrecor