Wooden Wand – Death Seat

In one year James Jackson Toth split from his wife, his band, his manager and his major label. For many this series of events could mark an end to a career. For the prolific Toth, it led to the release of last years limited vinyl LP called Born Bad, under the Wand moniker that he had previously hung up. A little further down the line and the same sense of loss and sadness permeates Death Seat, for which apparently Toth recorded over 100 songs. The record comes out through Young God, and finds label boss and vocal Toth supporter Michael Gira at the controls. It also comes with a list with contributions from members of Lambchop and Grasshopper for Mercury Rev amongst others. It is a testament to the high esteem Toth is held amongst his peers that he can pull together such illustrious contributors. When all the members come together, as on the titular track, these amassed contributors allow the music to swell and arch and bringing some variation to the sonic palette of the record.

As an album, Death Seat presents a series of picaresque tales, from the slow, sinister arpeggiation of the borderline obsessive ‘I Wanna Make A Difference In Your Life’ (in which Toth seeks to have some kind of influence, positive or negative) or the eeriely funereal ‘Servant to Blues’, drenched in reverbed organ and parlour piano before a fuzzy guitar freakout of the kind that marked Toth’s work with The Vanishing Voice. Elsewhere the gothic noir storytelling of Ms Mowse is drenched in reverb and haunting choirs, Toth calling for benevolent angels and warning that he will make “whores of them one by one”. Album closer ‘Tiny Confessions’ is just that, and finds a penitent Toth asking forgiveness, admitting that “with new devotions come brand new sins”.

On Death Seat, Toth proves that he is possessed of a wryness and wit that so frequently alludes so many artists in the singer-songwriter genre, a quality that prevents the darkness in the album from becoming overwhelming. For those unfamiliar with his work, Death Seat makes a fine introduction to the world of Wooden Wand, for those already aware, it marks a welcome and compelling return.