IV
In a Nutshell:
Recommended for:
Fans of modern sounding classic rock
Psychedelic rock fans
Average Rating: 6.6/10
Pros:
Fresh take on classic sounds
Otherworldly synthesizers
Solid guitar tones
Cons:
Occasionally cliche lyrics
IV is the appropriately named fourth studio album from Vancouver based rock band Black Mountain. The band consists of members: Stephen McBean, Amber Webber, Matt Camirand, Jeremy Schmidt and Joshua Wells. Jeremy Schmidt joked about the album, "We were toying with the idea of calling the album Our Strongest Material To Date”
Black Mountain (Mercury Lounge 10.10.07) Photo by Nobody 99
MAGICFINGERS:
This album opens up with an epic, eight and a half minute rock ballad that sets the tone for the entire record. Mothers of the Sun clearly stands as one of the best songs Black Mountain has ever written, blending together filthy guitar riffs and solos, otherworldly synthesizers and keyboard parts, along with haunting vocals from Amber Webber.
Keyboardist Jeremy Schmidt said, “It’s actually an older song which we couldn’t get quite right before, it has all the elements that we gravitate towards, built into one miniature epic.”
Moving forward through the album, I was happy to find a good range of sounds despite the obvious focus on their niche psych rock foundations. Upbeat songs like Florian Saucer Attack, and Constellations have the ability to rock your socks off. While groovy ballads like Cemetary Breeding take the intensity back a notch and reveal a darker emotional side to the music.
Lyrically, I would say they did a solid job. They mixed together meaningful themes and narratives with some predictable cliche, space related lines. The result is fairly satisfying and interesting to listen to.
Overall, this album was quite refreshing to listen to. It’s nice to hear bands still going for new takes on classic sounds. Especially sounds like this sort of 60’s psychedelic classic rock that we don’t hear from too many modern bands anymore.
In IV, we clearly get a very mature performance from a band that is moving into its prime in terms of songwriting and production quality. Black Mountain displayed an arsenal of trippy keys, sexy guitar tones, and funky rhythms.
Favorite Songs: Defector, Constellations
6.9/10
J-Dizzle:
This album is a little of a mixed bag for me. I love the stoner rock scene that has been rapidly growing for the past few years, and Black Mountain has been one of the bands with that scene for over ten years. However the overall impression I get from this album in the end is “eh.”
That isn’t to say that there aren’t good moments in this album. There’s still ass-kicking, Sabbathy riffs that you’d expect to hear on a Black Mountain album, or really any stoner rock album. The vocals from Amber Webber and Stephen McBean are still sharp and mixed well and tastefully. There are sci-fi sci-fi synths that take you to another world and beyond.
So what’s the problem with the album? Well, there are two problems for me. One is that the good characteristics of this album I just listed are all things someone can hear on about any good stoner/doom album. Especially now with the scene being as big as it’s ever been, there are just so many places to find awesome Sabbathy riffs with ‘60s psychedelic features infused with it. The other problem is that there are too many times I felt there were songs that had the potential to go somewhere great and just didn’t get there. Songs like “You Can Dream” and especially “(Over and Over) The Chain” have this problem.
However, there are songs that do get to that place like “Mothers of the Sun,” “Florian Saucer Attack,” “Constellations,” and “Space to Bakersfield.”
If you enjoyed this album, then I would suggest checking out bands like Ghost, Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, Golden Void, Ruby the Hatchet, Wolf People, and so many more. This genre of music is stupidly vast and enjoyable, and I encourage everyone to explore.
6/10
MOM:
This album certainly possesses a refreshing mix of ambient synths as well as traditional rock instruments. A few brief moments in this album had me feeling Black Sabbath, until a spacey synth would fade in. The female vocalist on this album has a tone comparable to Pat Benatar. Her voice provides a fun female lead to move along the upbeat tracks.
One of the problems with this album, is that it dips into poppy-corny space rock moments. In, “Florian Saucer Attack”, the repetitive spacey pop-punk atmosphere runs a little smooth. On the bright side, this album does not have too many of these moments. Much of the album contains great instrumentals moments and airy interludes. Furthermore, this album is well pieced together. The first song fits, as does the last, and everything in between. I have chosen the first track as my favorite on the album, not only because it is epically produced and recorded, but also because of the fact that it is a perfect choice for the album’s opening track.
Favorite Song: Mothers of the Sun
6.9/10
If you're digging this sweet psychedelic rock machine then you should go check out Black Mountain's website. Go buy their music, listen to all their albums. Maybe go buy a van and follow them around Canada, could be the best thing you've ever done for all I know.
Next week's adventure: IV
by: BadBadNotGood
Our team is comprised of some semi-normal, occasionally funny people who love to listen to and talk about music. And like many of you, we constantly find ourselves hungry to discover new music.