WAND - Vertigo LP

Highly recommended.

Wand's 7th album is the difficult one that comes after the expansive double album that all bands of a certain longevity seem to have to make at some point. Most fall flat on their faces but Wand's Laughing Matter was tremendous.

This follows on in the same vein melodically and to a certain extent musically, it's all glacial snaking vocal melodies and layer upon layer of guitar fx and distortion break-up. It's a great sound creating lush symphonic soundscapes.

The songs are less structured than on previous efforts which is probably down to the way the band recorded the album, jamming in the studio until the songs slowly emerged, which is a very Can way of making a record, though lead Wand Cory Hanson is too steeped in songcraft to let the songs lapse into one chord repetition.

The looser structure means the ear focuses more on the sonics than more obvious vocal hooks which only reveal themselves after several plays. It's a great record from one of the CA psyche scene's more under-the-radar bands.