James Jackson Toth

James Jackson Toth

Waiting In Vain

[4.5/5]

Most bands make albums like Hollywood comedies, stitching together a few funny incidents or overextending a sketch-level gag, satisfied to entertain for a few unsustainable moments. James Jackson Toth’s solo debut, after retiring the Wooden Wand moniker, has the depth, energy and character of a great comedy succeeds track to track with good songs, but also works as an album, expertly fashioning a pervasive, easygoing blues-folk atmosphere. Like the last Wooden Wand album, James And The Quiet, Toth’s early freak-folk experimentalism has subsided, giving way to a lithe rootsy amble accompanied by his wife, Jexie, and members of Wilco, Deerhoof and Vetiver. The album searches for peace, from the glam-tinged ’70s boogie “The Banquet Styx” to the pretty, drifting piano ballad “Poison Oak” and the infectious rock shuffle “Beulah The Good,” which riffs on his muse like Bob Dylan’s classic “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” It discovers instead a restless longing as graceful as it is unquenchable. (RYKODISC) Chris Parker

Categories: