Black Mountain – IV

Black Mountain – IV

Jagjaguwar/Konkurrent – 2016

Rock, Hard, Psych

Rated: ***

Black Mountain. Everybody loves these Canadian crazies. Well, almost everybody. And the amazing Lucas belongs to the small percentage that doesn’t. Which makes his screed on his Paranoid Hitsophrenic one hell of sweet read. Even though I might not completely agree with Lucas and even though my testosterone level is definitely on par with most music fiends and homeless guys selling off their last testicle behind the supermarket, I am not the guy that will keep spreading the Black Mountain joint around. And I am definitely not the one to Bogart it and smoke it himself. Sure, the Canadian fellas released three good records, which for some reason didn’t get as much airtime over here as all the other psychedelic rock albums released in the same time period. There must be a reason. And while it might be too easy to state that the rest was simply better, I do think there must have been some truth to that simple fact. On their new release they opt to use a more spacey vibe and this definitely suits singer Amber Webber. And less of a sideshow and more a shared spotlight with singer/guitarist Stephen McBean, it is this unit of two that propels the new album IV. Where propel might be the wrong word chosen, since most of the jams are slow and arduous. Wilderness Heart made it to Number 17 of the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2010. It would be strange to see them make it that high this time around. But then again, who can complain about opener Mothers Of The Sun; where Black Mountain sounds charmingly old-fashioned and old-fashioned good. Cause even though there’s nothing new under the sun or on the other side of the mountain, there is also nothing wrong with doing everything that has been done before on your own terms and for your own ears. And if you dig the opener, with its wild one riff and its floating synthescapes, you’re in for one hell of a trip with closer Space To Bakersfield. A fine drift-off it is…

(Written by JK)

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Number 17

Number 17

At 17 we come across another group who keeps the sixties well alive. The members of this Canadian band live in a sort of commune. And during their daily life they help the less fortunate; junkies and homeless people. “To not loose touch with reality.” We can justly claim them to be sympathetic types; who by a very fortunate coincidence also produce incredibly great music! We can of course refer to the many musical influences of days long gone. The growling sound seems teleported from San Francisco and Detroit at the end of the sixties. It’s sordid rock that gets spliced here and there with a beam of folk. Thousands of bands have been plundering through the musical past; but only seldom is it done with so much taste and quality. The songs are varied to the extreme and the sound is honest. Add to that the voices of Stephen McBean and Amber Webber that are both like a velvet touch to the ear and we can justly claim that their third record Wilderness Heart is very deserving of a place in the top 20…

Black Mountain - Wilderness Heart

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