The production style of James & The Quiet mimics the sparse aesthetic of Nelson’s landmark album, and although Toth doesn’t dare tackle an album’s worth of dialogue, his use of interesting and unusual storytelling techniques lend themselves to the outlaw movement.  Full text...

Compositionally, James and the Quiet is far surer of its identity. Toth and his band—which includes Jarvis Taveniere and DM Seidel of Vanishing Voice, Jeremy Earl of Meneguar, and Steve Shelley and Ranaldo of Sonic Youth—play without any of the psychedelic pedals that have dominated his previous albums, opting instead for a crisp, economic sound steeped in rock tradition.  Full text...

Beginning with a slow dirge that is reminiscent of Tom Waits in its composition but not its vocals, James and the Quiet begins at full bore. While the Vanishing Voice backing band that often accompanies James Jackson Toth (a.k.a. Wooden Wand) produces far more moody and subtle efforts, his solo songs almost always get to the point rather quickly.  Full text...

Songs like "Invisible Children" and "Future Dream" are appealingly Bob Dylan-esque, with their resonant singsong lines and filmy lysergic overlay, and "In A Bucket" is a new anti-folk classic, with its distant twang and witty lyrics about society's "busy little bees."  Full text...

James & the Quiet is Toth's attempt at a singular presentation of himself as an artist-- "an un-weird record," in his terms, designed to be music more synonymous with its creator than the wah-wah pedal wash that characterized his output with the Vanishing Voice.  Full text...