V.
by Wooden Shjips
Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. The Guardian
    May 25, 2018
    80
    Throughout, Johnson’s guitar wanders delicately across the sound with spectral beauty. It’s an album of hazy intensity, perfect for these times and this summer.
  2. Uncut
    May 24, 2018
    80
    The frenzied, immersive and hard-charged psych the band has explored previously gives way to an album that is woozy, melodic and reflective. [Jul 2018, p.37]
    All this publication's reviews
  3. Delusions of Adequacy
    May 22, 2018
    80
    Whilst the cynical might ponder whether Wooden Shjips may only really have one song, at least on V they prove how well it can it be stretched and squashed into many alluring, energising and enveloping shapes with charming self-confidence.
  5. Mojo
    May 22, 2018
    80
    V. creates a sense of space, both mental and physical, as well as the idea of an alternate perception that is the calling card of West Coast psychedelia. [Jun 2018, p.91]
    All this publication's reviews
  6. musicOMH.com
    May 22, 2018
    80
    V is laced more richly with sunshine: it’s the mellowest and brightest album Wooden Shjips have released to date.
  7. Under The Radar
    Jun 7, 2018
    75
    Wooden Shijps has by all means created a summer record, albeit a record that is as combustible as the atmosphere in which it was written.
  8. Pitchfork
    May 31, 2018
    73
    But even as he’s singing his most accessible songs to date, Johnson’s voice remains a highly impressionistic instrument, his words wafting through like smoke rings, disappearing just as they seem to be acquiring definition.
  9. Drowned In Sound
    May 25, 2018
    70
    There is a nagging sense with this attempt that they are leaning on their influences even more than usual, however this is also stands as their best-produced and most accessible record, so there is a balance struck. Whether those outside of the proggy, psychedelic set will acknowledge that, remains to be seen.
  10. AllMusic
    May 24, 2018
    70
    Their playing is energetic and in good spirits, and most importantly, their positivity never sounds forced or unnatural. They're not acting like clowns and forcing anyone to smile, and they never sound too eager to please. They're simply having a good time and making relaxed, not-too-heavy boogie rock fit for a summer gathering or a road trip through the desert.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 1 out of 6
  1. charliequaker
    Feb 23, 2019
    10
    The 5th album from these San Francisco masters of psychedelic dreamland continues on the path of their brilliant 2013 release “Back To Land”.The 5th album from these San Francisco masters of psychedelic dreamland continues on the path of their brilliant 2013 release “Back To Land”. The songs bask in a generally subtle, smooth flow—almost jazzy at times. But the mindset is pure tripped-out bliss. Ripley Johnson’s guitar is heavenly, dreamy—a fluid, otherworldly rocketship floating through the universe on a leisurely voyage to nirvana. It hints at artists like Tom Verlaine, Mike Bloomfield, Bill Nelson, Mick Hutchinson, John Cippolina, Guy Blakeslee. The keyboards and Krautrock-tinged rhythms recall Johnson’s poppier band, Moon Duo. There are similarities to bands such as Psychic Ills, The Black Angels, Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Velvet Underground, Spacemen 3, Suicide. “V” rises like a kaleidoscopic peacock on magical wings, extending a visionary optimism to starry-eyed dreamers and seekers of audio euphoria. Recommended.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »