As I have mentioned prior, bands such as Black Mountain, Sleepy Sun and Howlin Rain scratch an itch that I picked up as a youth listening to bands in my friend’s basement. We’d leaf through his brother’s LPs and fire up anything that was loud that we thought made us cool. On their 3rd album, Wilderness Heart, Black Mountain continue to rev up the engine on their classic/stoner rock and folk mix, and I continue to think I am cool.
Rumbling riffs, synths that weave their way through the album and the dual vocals of Stephen McBean and Amber Webber make this album worthy of twisting the volume knob to the right. Back when Oz and I had our first man-date, I desribed them as mix of Deep Purple and Fleetwood Mac. With Webber stepping to the forefront on Wilderness Heart that description is as apt as ever. I for one, really enjoy her taking on a more prominent role.
Much like a burger at Kuma’s, the meat of the album is in the middle. Rollercoaster and Let Spirits Ride deliver a nice one-two punch in the middle of the album. While Rollercoaster meanders around delivering heavy riffs, Let Spirits Ride puts the foot on the gas from the onset. Webber sounds particularly demonic here. Maybe she’s been spending some time with Christine O’Donnell’s old boyfriend.
A band lacking the talent of Black Mountain would make this come off as a parody of 70′s rock (comes close on a couple of tunes – yes I’m looking at you Radiant Hearts) but with Stephen McBean at the helm, there is little worry of that. Black Mountain continue to churn out phenomenal albums and their live performances are every bit the equal, if not better.
What better way to follow up a post about The Black Keys? Two more of my favorite bands with “Black” in their names have released new tracks for all us PC users to right click and download. Both have albums scheduled for release on September 14th. These two bands would be a fantastic pairing on tour together.
Black Mountain’s upcoming release, Wilderness Heart, is scheduled for release on September 14th.
Psychedelic Candadian rockers, Black Mountain, are set to release Wilderness Heart on September 14th and they are teasing us with a video for a new song, “Old Fangs.” Woody just caught the band at Lincoln Hall in Chicago and, based on what he heard, the new material should be outstanding.
You can pre-order the album here and get a download code that willl activate two weeks prior to its release.
From the magnificent city of Vancouver (known for its recently vanquished Canucks at the hands of the mighty Hawks) come the sounds of native son Stephen McBean and his close collective of contributors.‚ McBean is better known for his role fronting the psychedelic Black Mountain, but don’t mistake Pink Mountaintops for a “side project.” Outside Love is an ambitious effort that reveals McBean as one of the great arrangers/composers of the day.
Whereas Black Mountain borrows from 70′s psych such as Floyd and Jefferson Airplane, Pink Mountaintops employs the softer 60′s techniques, including those of Phil Spector.‚ Black Mountain kicks out “stoner operas” featuring tracks that extend well into the 8 to 10-minute ranges and there’s always that pounding percussion driving their music forward.‚ In contrast, Pink Mountaintop’s rhythm section is scarcely noticeable, sometimes coming courtesy of a drum machine or a guitar pick.‚ Of course there are similarities between the bands, the dark themes, melancholy lyrics and cynical religious imagery, to name a few.
I do love this record–seemingly for some new reason with each additional listen.‚ There are layers upon layers in these tracks with orchestral string arrangements, choirs, and bridges provided by horn sections.‚ One of the highlights is the opening song, “Axis: Thrones of Love” with its reflection of wall-of-sound and 60′s girl group qualities.‚ McBean, as the narrator, cynically asks his listener “how deep is your love?” while describing his as “cheap and plastic”.
Other gems include the title track, beautifully backed by a church organ and male-female harmonizing vocals, intertwined with skuzzy lead guitar and Andrew Bird-esque whistling.‚ ‚ I wouldn’t throw this one on your breezy summer BBQ mix tape because it’s one dark show-stopper.‚ I also really enjoy the country-tinged duet “And I Thank You” along with “The Gayest of Sunbeams,” which could pass for a Handsome Furs or Kills track.‚ The latter includes one of my favorite lines on the entire record, “she rose like an arc in my spine.” The former is accented nicely by soft mandolin. Fans of Black Mountain will love this music for its experimental take on those same dark themes while fans of indie music will love this record for its variety.
We’re knee deep into the top 25 albums of 2008 and this batch features two bands from Alive Records – Left Lane Cruiser and Hacienda. The Rural Alberta Advantage was arguably our biggest surprise of the year, building buzz with nothing more than their music – no label, no publicist.‚ ‚ The Morning Benders and Sam [...]
