Customer Reviews

Black Angels

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one steller debut EP -- fans of Velvet Underground, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and Joy Division (the track Manipulation could stand in for a lost Joy Division track) owe themselves a favor to give this one a listen. I also suggest visiting their website and clicking on the MP3/Music section and grab themselves a few live in-studio tracks not on the EP.

Seems they have a lot of additional songs under their belt. Which means an LP must be arriving in the near future -- it is on the top of my list as the most Anticipated Album of 2006 -- well, after the Stars "Set Yourself On Fire" Remix LP...

Take a listen and enjoy.

The Black Angels are a local favourite of mine. I've seen them live twice, and plan to see them again many more times. They're incredible people, and incredible artists-- their playing is top.

Their take on Psychedelic music is very refreshing. Their most obvious influence is (also from Austin) the legendary 13th Floor Elevators; but their love of BRMC, Warlocks, BJM, and countless other contemporary neo-Psychedelic acts makes their music a combonation of many good things. This EP is very, very good. "The First Vietnamese War" (hypnotic when heard live...) is excellent, and "Manipulation" is also another favourite of mine.

Keep a lookout for their full-length, which is coming out on April 11th on Light in the Attic Records.

This cd kills, I don't know how many times I replayed it the first day I got it. Can't wait for a full length to come out. Oh and check them out live, I saw them in January at a free show at Austin's finest venue Emos, and they were great. Their sound is retro without being that annoying we're super retro thing, ya know how that can get old fast. Anyway this thing rocks so buy it, and force your friends to listen.

i had never heard of this band until i saw it in a local store on a listening station, after listening to most of it i decided that they are really good, and would buy it when i got more money. they remind me of Black Rebel motorcycle club but the Black Angels are much more authentic and have much for depth and strength behind their lyrics and droning rifts. i love the cover too.

Wow! I have listened to this ep at least 20 times since I was lucky enough to get it pre-release date 5 days ago. I'm not a critic, or even a writer, so I'm not going to fill this review up with a bunch of stuff that's going to make me sound hip or smart. I just want to say this is an awesome cd and I think anyone who has a ecletic taste in music and loves to discover new bands, should check this one out. I would also like to suggest you visit their website (...)and buy their last ep "The Sniper at the Gates of Dawn". I can't wait to see where this band goes. Is it here where I confess my crush on....eh-hem...no.

A very droney sounding Austin band with influences from the Velvet Underground hence their band name. If this EP is just a hint at their LP they could be the next big thing in the underground scene. Worth the listen if you're looking for something new-wait for the longplayer and some press if you're economical and/or a pawn.

Life changed today. Ridiculously impressive. Reviewing List for Lolla '07 for things I want to check out come August and CCRRRRRRRRRRUUNNCCCHHHH!!!! Pulverized by an incredible band. Not a Neil Young fan but this is what his voice must sound like when he is run down by a slow locomotive engineered by Iggy. I can smell J.M's dirty leathers. Natives scream and eyes peel back to see the sound. How am I hearing Joy Division through all this storm. Inspiration and jealousy are best seved room temperature. Half way through this album on Rhapsody while writing this. No need to tell you to buy this because if you listen.... you will.

The Black Angels are rock'n'roll, pure'n'simple -- they have raw, gritty, intense, droning rock music, redolent of the desert and a shaman's chant. It doesn't hurt that the singer sounds like a bluesier Jim Morrison.

And before they turned out an amazing full-length debut, the Black Angels put out a small EP that showed off some of their best songs. "The Black Angels" won't have much that's new for people who've heard "Passover," but it's a brilliant introduction for people who want some real, sinewy rock.

It opens with the droning guitars and wall-of-sound bass of "Black Grease," which languidly stretches itself over the epic melody. "Slow, you kept me in that storm/You showed me things galore/Made me want much more/And now denied/The things I saw inside," Alex Maas intones in a raw, soulful voice.

It's followed by two songs that also crop up on the debut: "The First Vietnamese War," a sprawling, tightly wound rocker that drones through a rippling melody and some killer riffs, erupting into an epic sprawl of keyboard and guitar. It's absolute mind-blowing and sensually frightening.

... which is when we switch over to the retro-sixties swirls of "Manipulation," which sounds like a long-lost Rolling Stones song (but with better vocals). And there's a song exclusive to this EP: "Winter '68," a swirling little B-side with murky vocals and what sounds like guitar wailing.

Basically, they're blending really raw blues music with swirling, dark psychedelica. It's an unlikely-sounding kind of music, but the Black Angels pull it off with exceptional skill. If there were any justice in the music world, these guys would be chart-toppers.

Granted, "Winter '68" isn't quite as good as the other three songs -- it seems to have less of a melody, and Maas sounds like he's singing through a blanket. Not bad, yet not brilliant. But the other songs are simply phenomenal -- raw, droning guitars and fuzz bass twisted into fiery riffs and looping melodies, as well as some solid drums. The effect is just hypnotic.

And Maas's voice is just great for this kind of music -- he sounds rough and weatherbeaten, like an old shaman who decided to form a band. He groans, murmurs, and intones softly, through the rather simplstic lyrics about storms, girls with pale blue eyes, and wars in Vietnam.

The Black Angels' music is a bit like a fine wine -- it takes a little while to sink in, but when it has, it's intoxicating. And this is a good introduction.

This is the best new stuff I've heard in YEARS.
Buy it & enjoy.