The Review - Black Mountain & B.R.M.C
My first music review for West Coast Live. I’m excited to be a part of this vision started by my good friend Dan and happy to add some thoughts on the music of today, yesterday and hopefully inspire you to check something new out.
With the site and concept of West Coast Live still in its infancy I wanted to start with a review that is firmly based in the West Coast Live birthplace, Vancouver. The reviews I write won’t always be West Coast focused by to start let’s take a listen to Black Mountain’s 10th Anniversary re-issue of their debut album ‘Black Mountain’. Full disclosure: I love this band. But this isn’t the album that I started with. I discovered them while working at CFOX 99.3 and their second album, ‘In the Future’. This is fantastic album that has received countless spins from me over the years and cumulated with an over the top performance at the Commodore in 2010 that introduced me to another great band, The Black Angels.
Back to the their self titles re-issue. This is a good album and you can hear the groundwork that would lead to future VERY good albums. Tracks like ‘Don’t Run Our Hearts Around’ & ‘Druganaut’ pack a sludgy track 2 – 3 punch that evokes a modern day Black Sabbath feel.
Amber Webber’s vocals compliment the dark spaces of the music really well and take it to places other bands of the similar genre just can’t match. To me she is what makes Black Mountain special and gives it that edge. Where some bands have debut albums so good, they are never able to achieve that pinnacle again and find themselves with a career always comparing to it, Black Mountain seem to keep getting better.
The stand-out for me on this re-issue is ‘Set Us Free-Demo’. The stripped down vibe this song carries turns it almost into a new song. Stephen McBean’s vocals sound like he’s off mic making the song come across casual but attention dragging enough to tap your feet and lean in to hear more. I also really like the Doors feel of the track ‘Faulty Times’.
This re-issue is definitely worth checking out and you haven’t give ‘In the Future’ & ‘Wilderness Heart’ a spin.
http://www.blackmountainarmy.com/
The next record this week is a live album from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, ‘Live in Paris’. At 24 songs and a 2 hour run time this album tended to drag at times. After hearing the first two tracks I was wondering how heavey that would be leaning on their (awesome) latest album, ‘Specter At The Feast’ in this release, and sure enough singer Peter Hayes confirmed, saying they were going to play the entire album front to back. Luckily Specter is awesome and it comes across here. The album starts slow but builds to the mammoth 3 song pack of ‘Hate the Taste’, ‘Rival’ and ‘Teenage Disease’. The band shines here with these 3 songs and is truly where you can appreciate when album gets the order of songs correct. You feel like you’re on a ride when it’s done like this.
Where the album loses me is near the end and going acoustic for the final couple songs but coming back plugged in for ‘Whatever Happened to My Rock’N’Roll.’ Going unplugged after an 1 hour 45 minutes zapped listening energy I had. Granted coming back with ‘Whatever…’ was a great choice to close, I wonder if the acoustic tracks would have served well as the start to the show as an intro to Specter. This album would have been stronger as strictly a Specter companion piece, giving fans a live version of the album to hear. Unfortunately this album is long but doesn’t diminish interest in seeing this group live in the near future.
www.blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com
The final review this week was a late release and his 16 minute EP from Thundercat called ‘The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam’. This was a pleasant surprise and is easily listenable 6 song quick release with a laid back vibe. Perfect song for hot summer listening and relaxing. Stand out track for me is the Fliying Lotus, Kamasi Washington guested track ‘Them Changes’. Think Stevie Wonder and a nice funky groove on this song.
www.brainfeedersite.com
Next week I’ll take a listen to Neil Young’s ‘The Monsanto Years’ (which is already streaming here if you want to check it out) and Refused’s first album in a LONG time ‘Freedom’.