That they take their name from the Velvet Underground’ The Black Angel’ Death Song, gives some indication of where this Austin, Texas band is coming from. That The Black Angels mantra is “Turn On, Tune In, Drone Out†is further indication that you could draw a direct line from this band of self-styled outlaws to heavy duty 60s psychedelic rockers like the 13th Floor Elevators. Their self-proclaimed genre “Native American Drone “N’ Roll†echoes the space and spirit of The Doors trippy vision (particularly on Better Off Alone) and the counter cultural twang of 80s indie synth rockers The Wall Of Voodoo. Vocalist Alex Maas’ mid-range drawl has a similar intensity and tack to Stan Ridgeway’. Like Stan, he is a storyteller in the preacher man mode. He’ been to hell and back, this is what he saw. The Black Angels are bluesy, fuzzy and yes, droney. A 5 piece, The Black Angels fifth memnber is Jennifer Raines, whose contribution is “drone machine’. There is a relentlessness to The Black Angels – they stay on it – songs don’ move from their initial key centre. Wiry guitar phrases repeat slinky lines, the bass pulses. On Manipulation sitar-like backward guitar phrases snake in and out. Toms and bass pound a circular loop in Empire, entwined in the same twine-like reverb dipped guitar licks. Their live shows are three-hour multimedia epics, and their album artwork is dazzling – an embossed black and white op-art piece of eye candy.
The Black Angels sound is cavernous and roomy, the opposite of the bone-dry, reverb-free “tight’s rock recordings popular in the 90s. The album’ closer Call To Arms recalls an unexpected influence – the melancholic uplift of early 80s legends Joy Division, Echo & The Bunnymen, even U2. So it’s not all drone and groan. In the darkness there is some light.
Dan Joyce
