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Wand-1000 Days (Drag City Records)

Cover art for 1000 Days by Wand.
23 December 2015

LA’s Wand is an eccentric band who mixes brain-melting psych with folk elements. This is their second album in less than a year, and it’s a trippy, head-spinning deep dive into the world of dark psychedelia. Vocalist Cory Hanson’s light, warbling vocals flit closer to The Beatles than anyone on the heavy psych spectrum, yet his singing perfectly complements the band’s music. Let me also add that the only reason I know Cory’s name is from reading reviews elsewhere. The band has no social media presence, and their web site has zero information on the group. Neither does their press release. Enigmatic, to say the least!

Take “Paintings Are Dead”, a perfect example of what I just mentioned. It is a beautiful tune, but the waves of feedback and noise samples keep it jagged and razor sharp. “Dungeon Dropper” has heavy, throbbing guitar and bass, but the light as air vocals lift it from sonic oblivion. The title track “1000 Days” is pastoral, like skipping through a meadow full of wildflowers. “Broken Sun” reminds me of classic 70s prog rock, minus the bombast. Wand would rather drill down deep into your brain until you’re unable to forget their indelible melodies. Yes, you could say these songs are earworms, but you will never hear them on commercial radio. That would mean the world has ended and music with intelligence would fill the airwaves. Or there is the album opener, “Grave Robber”, which has all the cool, trippy elements complete with massive, fuzzed out guitar lines. Sometimes Cory Hanson’s guitar reminds me of Randy California from Spirit. And the keyboards take on a symphonic grandeur that wouldn’t be out of place on a Moody Blues record. “Lower Order” approaches psych laced doomgaze; perhaps they have listened to Black Sabbath a tad too many times. It is strangely lightened two thirds of the way through by a gorgeous wall of synths and keyboard washes. “Sleepy Dog” is lighter fare, festooned with bubbling keyboard and restrained guitar with Cory’s voice completing the picture. “Stolen Footsteps” is more ominous and veers on electronica, while the magnificent “Passage of the Dream” borrows a page from the Kaleidoscope playbook. Cory’s airy voice meshes perfectly with the sprightly melodies that anchor this song and prevent it from drifting into orbit. “Morning Rainbow” is slightly out of step with the heavier sonic elements here, and is a perfect bookend to a really unique and cool psych album.

In short, 1000 Days is a musical series of twists and turns that never stops surprising you as you work your way through this release. It sharpens the blurrier musical visions from their past releases into a cohesive whole. Highly recommended for fans of progressive psychedelia with pastoral folk elements, or for people who appreciate Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees.