WORDS BY VON GOLOKA
OUT NOW!!!! on Partisan records.
Texan neo-pyschedelic stalwarts and all round top drawer alt rock ensemble The Black Angels make one of their, sadly all too, infrequent outings on wax with their sixth studio LP release “Wilderness of Mirrors” out on Partisan records. This being their first for some five years. Who knows where the time goes? mused Fairport. Spanning eighteen years and taking center stage through the turbulent epoch of the twenty first century The Black Angels have stayed doggedly true to their Texan origins and never ceased to remain relevant as they constantly evolved with an ever deeper and more evolved sound. And now “Wilderness of Mirrors” takes a particular look at the global shit show that went down in those frankly unsettling five years since their last release. Always distinctly Psychedelic and born out of the rich heritage of such things in them thar parts, stretching way back to The 13th Floor Elevators and countless other edge riders, The Black Angels have consistently delivered sonic goodness and on “Wilderness of Mirrors” the journey continues but as I say here The Black Angels are trying to make sense of things now. No pastiche retro musings here.
Nobody was really expecting some kind of metamorphic re-invention on “Wilderness of Mirrors” and so it proves to be on the fifteen tracks to be found on this release, but yes the ever refined songs do bare testament to a band that is still moving forward. Wonderful production value is there in lashings with restrained phrasing counterpointed with narly up tempo riffing all over the place. Loads and loads of washy tremolo, verb, wobbly mellotron and distortion along the way overlaid with clarion crystal clear vocals make this a real hum dinger of an album that fans cannot but fail to love and newcomers will find solace within. It is, though when the dust settles distinctly The Black Angels with all that entails. Still razor sharp “Wilderness of Mirrors” will enrich any serious music junkies back catalogue and cements their reputation as one of America’s finest creative exports. 8/10
Von’s favourite track “A walk on the outside”
8/10
TRACK LISTING
1/ WITHOUT A TRACE
2/ HISTORY OF THE FUTURE
3/ EMPIRES FALL
4/ EL JARDIN
5/ LA PARED (GOVT WALL BLUES
6/ FIREFLY
7/ MAKE IT KNOWN
8/ THE RIVER
9/ WILDERNESS OF MIRRORS
10/ HERE & NOW
11/ 100 FLOWERS OF PARACUSIA
12/ A WALK ON THE OUTSIDE
13/ VERMILLION EYES
14/ ICON
15/ SUFFOCATION
FOLLOW THE BLACK ANGELS
My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago and married my childhood sweetheart and life is good.
