DEATH SONG
The Black Angels
Four years since the release of Indigo Meadow, The Black Angels have finally returned. Their heavy-psych sound is back in full force for their latest release, Death Song. And once again, their trademark, undulating background noises and dark imagery will twist and morph your thoughts into shapeless, reverb-worshipping masses. No one can evoke a feeling of wicked euphoria quite like The Black Angels, and they’ve proven that once again in Death Song. The only problem is they accomplish that in the same way we’ve heard from the last four albums.
To their credit, for a band that took The 13th Floor Elevators’ “Reverberation” and turned it into an entire genre, they’ve really stood the test of time while making only small alterations to their sound. It’s hard to believe that over a decade has passed since the release of Passover, and that’s because not much has changed.
Not to say that they didn’t try to change – the single off the album, “Half Believing,” is definitely a divergence from their usual sound. Unfortunately, it’s a step in a more familiar alt-rock direction. “Half Believing” has shades of Arctic Monkeys and Cold War Kids, and while those bands have their merits, they sit in the middle of the alt-rock genre. On the other hand, The Black Angels have made a name for themselves by pushing the boundaries of their genre. Alex Maas’s voice adopts a more subdued, intimate tone, and the instrumentation is too predictable in its build-ups and bridges.
Listening to “Half Believing” left me yearning for The Black Angels of old, and I can see the double standard – criticized for not changing, then criticized when they do change. But “Half Believing” is well explored territory in the industry, and luckily, the very next song in the album, “Comanche Moon,” is a classic Black Angels romp. Wavering reverb, thudding drums and a return to Maas’s wonderfully tortured voice are all a welcome cacophony. But then you’ll realize you’ve heard this song before, and you’ll hear it several more times on Death Song on similar songs like “Medicine” and “Death March.”
The EP they released in 2014, Clear Lake Forest, seemed to indicate a reworked sound. The songs were more delicately treated and they experimented with new patterning while still maintaining that recognizable dark cloak each of their songs seems to don. While I’ll admit I wasn’t a huge fan of the EP, I was excited for what it would bring to their next full-length feature. However, it seems Clear Lake Forest was more of a short detour than a new direction.
This album does have its gems, which shine as glimpses of hope that the next album will indeed be uncharted waters for the band. “Grab as Much (as you can)” is a showcase of The Black Angels’ superior instrumentation and Maas’s knack for surfacing your evil thoughts. It keeps things interesting with a head-bobbing bass line, and the song progresses to a spell-binding end. “Grab as Much (as you can)” is unmistakably a Black Angels’ song, but it doesn’t depend on their usual bag of tricks.
Death Song is an effective album, and there’s no denying The Black Angels’ dominance of their niche genre. Stephanie Bailey remains one of the most underrated drummers in rock, and no one can touch Maas’s moody lyrics. But after four very similar albums and four years of waiting, this fifth release had expectations of change tied to it. While they ultimately stuck to their tried-and-true formula, they provided just enough variation to get me excited for their next release, however far into the future it may be.
7/10
