Weekly Release Spotlight: The Black Angels
Posted on 5/11/2008
The Black Angels
Directions to See a Ghost
[Light in the Attic]
Waiting in the humid desert air, staring into a chasm of blackness, and taunting the unknown are The Black Angels. On one level of consciousness, the languorous percussion and weighty but fluid bass keeps the paranoia-fueled band low to the ground, weary of its surroundings, but never vicious or hateful enough to attack. In their deep red eyes, crouched on the cracked dirt like a pack of frozen mountain lion, however, the truth can be seen. Swelling guitars, warped organ, and snarling vocals indicate a rapture in the making. The Black Angels don't merely suggest the sound of modern dread; they are the fright as well as the afraid.
In late 2005, the Austin five-piece fiercely wowed the Radio K staff and volunteers with their debut self-titled EP. The short-playing collection captured the hearts of both the retro-psych enthusiasts and obsessive new music fanatics alike. Successive listens and spins of 2006's full-length follow-up Passover as well as visits to the station by the brooding rockers themselves turned Radio K into The Black Angels' veritable Midwest headquarters. It was almost as if their music was aurally laced, sedating us into a catatonic state of musical bliss: must...have...more...drone. With the sophomore effort officially in our hands, Directions gives us exactly what we've been waiting for.
The songs are more nuanced, less impulsive, and even slightly more eclectic (sitar!) for a band whose sound is so deeply rooted in a subgenre's precise, and often pigeonholing, traditions. "Doves" almost sounds majestic and gleaming before imploding under duress and warble. Launching into meditative territory, "Never/Ever" and "Snake in the Grass" even jostle and shake for several minutes without ever destroying the restraint the band controls so well. Don't fret though, "You in Color" and "You On the Run" still boom methodically with singer Alex Maas careening through the building instrumental pressure like a classic Black Angels track. No matter what, every song bleeds seduction through destruction, gently yet firmly persuading a new fan to join their end-of-the-world party.
Stream: The Black Angels - Doves
Radio K Presents The Black Angels the Turf Club on Wednesday, June 18 with the Warlocks. Doors 9pm. 21+.
Written by Chris Polley, Radio K volunteer and host of Now Like Photographs.