Black Mountain rises from within the Vancouver-based fiefdom of
Stephen McBean, the hazy-toned singer and meandering songwriter who also heads up
Pink Mountaintops. Both groups languish in a fog of psychedelia and sexual release. But while the latter opts for arty avant folk,
Black Mountain lives up to its name with a heavier foundation. The self-titled debut on
Jagjaguwar (its eight-song count and subdued cover art are a dark mirror to
Pink Mountaintops) busts open half-lidded
Velvet Underground fetishisms with squalls of
Blue Cheer guitar, and further channels the heady sounds of the late '60s with a moodily dwelling organ.
McBean shares vocal duties with
Amber Webber throughout, but she becomes an especially important factor on the twosome that closes
Black Mountain, since her stoned and elegiac vocals make them something more than simply idling jams. "Heart of Snow," for example, flutters like a warped and ancient recording of "Space Oddity" as
Webber draws out the syllables in lines like "Heart of snow/Let go let go/But your sad wings/Won't fly you home"; feedback and pounding drums periodically join in. It's a damaged blues sound comparable to that of
Jennifer Herrema's
Royal Trux outgrowth
RTX, but
McBean's vaguely mystic lyrics also dovetail
Black Mountain back into
Pink Mountaintops territory. "Modern Music" and "No Satisfaction" rock a
White Light/White Heat tumble that's nevertheless well done, particularly on the former, which features some spectacular sax assistance from Vancouver area player
Masa Anzai. The remainder of
Black Mountain positions stoner rock chording over swirling vintage keys and the ever-impressive vocals of
McBean and
Webber. It's a referential sound, to be sure. But there's enough weight to
Black Mountain's mojo to make it more than worthwhile. [A two-CD remastered 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of
Black Mountain was released in 2015, featuring an eight-track bonus CD including the band's
Druganaut 12" and four previously unreleased songs. The set was packaged in a digipack and included a 12-page lyric booklet.] ~ Johnny Loftus
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