Good morning, America! Mornings were definitely better when Obama was a president, and many musicians seem to be aware of this. It seems like there is a dark cloud hovering over music scene this year. Lickily, artists help us see animals in this clouds and those animals are full of strength, bursting from survival instict.
The members of the Texas quintet The Black Angels are returning more shady and more powerful than ever. The reasons for this are to be found in the fact that they were creating their fifth studio release during the American pre-election campaign, and the outcome colored the atmosphere of the record with melancholy and angst.
When it comes to music, The Black Angels remain loyal to their psychedelic sonic ideas, but it could be noticed that they are doing it with more variations and bigger amount of energy. It was important for a band to make a step forward in their evolution, no matter how small those steps seem. The opening track Currency, offers supporting background of spherical bass guitar sound enriched with dirty guitar riffs. The very beginning of the album teases the listener what he can expect until the end of it. The following track I’d Kill For Her puts you in a good trip, especially because cool vocal of Alex Maas is your guide. Guitars are a bit easier on the ears. Cosmic love ballade Half Believing and blues psychedelic Comanche Moon are gracefully running through the middle.
The influences of the 60s and the 70s are more present in their work. Bands such as The Doors and The Velvet Underground (I mean, just take a look of the album title), but also Sonic Youth and Spacemen 3 clearly had a hug impact on The Black Angels. One of my favorite moments on Death Song is I Dreamt, probably the most trippy track on the whole record. I also enjoy Estimate with marching band drums and hypnotic melody. Btw, drummer Stephanie Bailey did a great job on this record.
Quintet from Austin had a difficult task. They needed to justify the expectations caused by a magnificent Indigo Meadow from 2013. After several plays, it can be concluded that they were up to task.
