Wooden Wand – Death Seat (Young God)

After a brief sojourn on Rykodisc, singer/songwriter James Jackson Toth returns to his Wooden Wand pseudonym for Death Seat. In the past Toth has been lumped in with the so-called “freak folk” movement, and while his records have certainly been filled with eccentricities, the truth is that he’s a classic songwriter in the mode of Bob Dylan, John Darnielle and even Woody Guthrie. With an intimate approach featuring little more than his guitar and voice, Toth boils down decades of folk, country and blues stylings into his own personal artistry, comfortable with tradition but not constrained by it. The haunted “Bobby,” the lovely “I Wanna Make a Difference,” the vibrant “Servant to Blues” (which alters the formula with an acid rock guitar solo) and the simply stunning “Tiny Confessions” show range while still sounding of a piece. “Hotel Bar” fills out the sound with other instruments without losing focus on Toth’s tune and singing, while “Ms. Mowse” stakes a claim to Toth’s place in the pantheon of folksong by channeling Dylan, Townes Van Zandt and Nick Cave all at once. Like a long-list troubadour who suddenly sets opens his guitar case in your living room, Toth presents himself (mostly) unadorned, eschewing a fourth wall that might get between us and his talent.

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