Outsider folk, gothic Americana. The latest Michael Gira fascination on Young God Records is James Jackson Toth, or Wooden Wand. Toth has worked with Thuston Moore and Lee Renaldo in the past. Toth has had a rough time lately – he lost a major label deal and job, his band and manager in the middle of a tour, and his wife all around the same time. This record is an emergence from his dark time and features wry humor and humble, reflective lyrics. There are moments on here when a noisy guitar comes in, or the backing vocals spill out and we get an idea what Gira saw in his pained spirit. Wooden Wand is supporting Swans on their current tour. Check it out if you like The Angels of Light, literate folk, or whiskey. No FCCs noted.

1. Lilting, longing, slow guitar strum, banjo, pedal steel, barroom piano, plenty of male and female backing vocals. Saloon shuffle. (4:04)
2. Folky, traditional, dark cowboy waltz. (4:09)
*3. Tense strings, crawling pace, noisy guitars and haunted backing vocals come in. (2:51)
4. Another ¾ bob with little percussion, almost doo-woppy choruses. Pretty accessible. (3:49)
5. Distant, reverb vocals, simplistic acoustic pattern, some nonsensical lyrics. (3:44)
*6. Slow acoustic guitar, tremelo picked guitars, builds to a cathartic climax with backing vocals. (3:28)
7. Stripped down acoustic + vocals. (2:19)
*8. Choral backing vocals with bendy strings and high-pitched guitar squeaks, dabs of piano. (3:41)
9. Folky, simplistic, harmonica. (3:22)
*10. Hypnotic vibraphone, maybe electric piano, dreamy surreal, electronic percussion on this waltz. (3:44)
11. Faster paced, persistent backing vocals and keys. (2:04)
12. Slow, pensive, relatively straightforward folk with interesting lyrics. (4:53)