Wooden Shjips Vol. 2

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The Wooden Shjips' ascent to fame is one of the most unlikely stories in recent years. The band started with the explicit intention of staying obscure. Band leader Ripley Johnson gathered a group of non-musicians from around San Francisco to record singles, which he would leave in libraries, thrift shops, and other public places. His goal was to create a lost record that future generations would find and revitalize, like a planned version of the Shaggs. One of these singles somehow got a write-up in Rolling Stone, though, and the band's notoriety was immediately increased. They played a show with Roky Erikson, got signed to Holy Mountain, and officially released a record. Those early singles were then rescued from the obscurity of San Fran bookshelves and given a proper release as the compilation Vol. 1. Since then, Wooden Shjips has released a second proper record and another slew of singles. Vol. 2 is the second in the series of compilations. It is a collection of singles from Sub Pop and Mexican Summer, along with a couple of tour-only vinyls and live tracks.

Abstract by Matthew Blackwell