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Avg: 4.0 (275 ratings)
- Date Released: January 18, 2005
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Label: Jagjaguwar / SC Distribution
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We Say...
Despite unapologetically copping from the most well-worn touchstones of '70s rock — Led Zeppelin, the Velvet Underground and Black Sabbath, especially — Black Mountain, a Vancouver collective led by Jerk with a Bomb frontman Stephen McBeam, slip a healthy dose of perversity into their stomping riffs, amping up classic rock slams with chilling boy-girl harmonies and plenty of back-alley menace. The resulting record is darker, smaller and more ominous than anything by their arena heroes. Black Mountain is also terrifically diverse, simultaneously creepy and invigorating, packing everything from the squawking, anti-pop anthem "Modern Music" to the druggy, synth-riddled "No Hits" to the perfect sing-along kick of "No Satisfaction."
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They Say...
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.
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| 01. |  |
Modern Music |
2:44 |
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| 02. | |
Don't Run Our Hearts Around |
6:03 |
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| 03. | |
Druganaut |
3:47 |
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| 04. | |
No Satisfaction |
3:47 |
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| 05. | |
Set Us Free |
6:45 |
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| 06. | |
No Hits |
6:45 |
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| 07. | |
Heart Of Snow |
7:59 |
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| 08. | |
Faulty Times |
8:34 |
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08 Total Tracks, 46:24 Total Length
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Credits
- Colin Stewart - Engineer // Doug Van Sloun - Mastering // Black Mountain - Main Performer // Joshua Wells - Group Member // Christoph Hofmeister - Fender Rhodes // Stephen McBean - Group Member // Amber Webber - Group Member // Jeremy Schmidt - Group Member // Masa Anzai - Saxophone // Toby Bannister - Photography
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