BLACK ANGELS – Passover (Light In The Attic)
The purchase of this album was the result of an article in the NME Radar section and managing to hear one of the tracks on the net. Both of these things pointed towards this being a record worth hearing, and so I risked it and made the investment. Based in Texas, this five-piece make the sort of laid-back stoner noise that you would expect from the state, with the sound coming across as early 70’s Hawkwind fronted by Jim Morrison. Many of the songs on ‘Passover’ deal with war, with titles like ‘The First Vietnamese War’ and ‘Young Men Dead’ showing that they are most definitely not in favour of it, not least because some members have experienced friends dying in Iraq. ‘Young Men Dead’ opens the album with some classic stoner riffing and impassioned vocals before the guitars are let loose to close the song. ‘The First Vietnamese War’ has a great intro, with chugging guitars and wailing keys leading into another storming track of anti-war polemic. These guys certainly have a way with a riff, with ‘Black Grease’ yet another monster of a track, and ‘Manipulation’ carries it on with a droning Krautrock backbeat under a repetitive bassline. The vocal of ‘Better Off Alone’ is so like Jim Morrison that you wonder if the band have dug him up just to sing this song, and while ‘Bloodhounds On My Trail’ isn’t the Robert Johnson classic it is still a damn fine bluesy effort. ‘Call To Arms’ closes with the most cheerful tune on the album, although I wouldn’t guarantee that the lyrics are as upbeat as the melody, with the song gradually evolving into a ten minute jam. Yet another possibly risky purchase which has ended up repaying me in spades, this is a fantastic album for just putting on and letting yourself be bludgeoned into forgetting all your worries and wallowing in the music. And it’s got the most stunning embossed digipak sleeve that I have yet seen.