We might be biased given that Wooden Wand’s James Jackson Toth has been known to eloquently opine about music on this very website, but we can’t get enough of the guy’s prolific, ever-evolving spin on twisted Americana. Actually, we’re definitely biased, so let’s turn it over to NPR’s Lars Gotrich, who just premiered a tune from Toth’s upcoming Wooden Wand & The World War IV. Regarding Toth’s category-defying career, Gotrich writes:

There was the noise jam-band phase, the bedroom acoustic recordings mistaken for “freak folk,” the major-label “flop” that had more to do with the crumbling remains of the label than the artist… Wooden Wand’s James Jackson Toth has always been prolific, but fans didn’t always stick around, and the ever-shifting monikers probably didn’t help. More to the point, the ever-morphing Toth was never lost, opting instead to simply wander down whatever musical path made sense.

There you have it: objective proof that Wooden Wand is spellbinding stuff. Toth’s latest incantation, “Directions To Debbie Harry’s House,” is a lurching Americana rocker backed by his very own Crazy Horse, a ragtag Alabama combo called the World War IV. Click over to NPR’s All Songs Considered blog to hear it.

Wooden Wand & The World War IV is coming 10/15 on Three Lobed Recordings, less than a year after Wooden Wand’s great Blood Oaths Of The New Blues. Keep ‘em coming, Jimmyjack.