Wiggin Band, Dot

Ready! Get! Go!

Alternative Tentacles

LP $13.00

10/29/2013 721616046014

VIRUS 460 LP

CD $13.00

10/29/2013 721616046021

VIRUS 460 CD

MP3 $9.90

10/29/2013 721616046021

The Shaggs’ Philosophy of the World quietly debuted 44 years ago and eventually became the crown jewel for outsider music fans for its charming and discordant pop songs. Frank Zappa said The Shaggs were “better than The Beatles” and Kurt Cobain regarded them as “so obviously the real thing.” Now, Shaggs’ singer and songwriter Dot Wiggin is back to break the silence and share her uncommonly cute, uncanny music on her first-ever solo album—a mix of never-recorded Shaggs songs and new classics written by Wiggin and her band!
Ready! Get! Go! retains The Shaggs’ essential qualities without missing a beat or trying to recreate what once was. The material ranges from raw, punkish indie to pretty melodies, all with Wiggin’s trademark whimsy. Her lyrics are simple but haunting, without ever becoming formulaic or gimmicky, and her peculiar, sweet voice rolls along the different musical styles with surprising ease, tying Ready! Get Go! together. It is exactly what one wants to hear after a 44-year musical hiatus—something reminiscent of The Shaggs, but refreshingly matured.
“Speed Limit” is a danceable track with a catchy chorus chant that showcases the innocent, fun-loving side of the band, whereas “Boo Hoo” shows their capacity for melancholy. “Speed Limit 2” offers rambunctious and berserk rock ’n’ roll noise that comes as a powerful surprise and delight. “Banana Bike” is an unrecorded Shaggs song given new life with Wiggin’s signature bashfulness. Upbeat and heavyhearted, “The Fella with a Happy Heart,” is another classic Shaggs-era tune never heard until now. The album ends with a cover of “End of the World,” a new take on Skeeter Davis’s 1962 cowboy hit.
Ready! Get ! Go! is the surprise comeback album of the year. After only a few shows, the band is flooded with requests for touring and concerts as well as press requests. It may have been 44 years since her last record but 2013 will be the year of Dot Wiggin!