Destroyer by Black Mountain

Destroyer by Black Mountain - Album Review

The fifth album from Canadian rockers, Black Mountain, a band that I'd not come across before this year, arrives and continues the confounding of expectations that I found in opening track, "Future Shade". I've already eulogised about how much I like that track, here. My thoughts on the rest of the album continue below.

The list of influences is long, from classic rock & metal behemoths Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Iron Maiden to the indie rock of bands like Swell via Berlin-era David Bowie and Depeche Mode. I love the way they use keyboards and guitars to equally powerful effect.

"Horns Arising" starts by continuing the hard rocking with vocoder vocals and strong keyboard work, before becoming a Mastodon-esque stomper then morphing into sinister but pastoral folk and back again. This is not an album for the faint-hearted, or those of simple tastes. This band takes you on an intense aural journey in the space of one song.

"Closer To The Edge" sounds like a 1970's science fiction film soundtrack and serves as a breath catching interlude after the craziness of "Horns Arising" before "High Rise" brings back the rock. Less metal and more garage rock but drifting into Hawkwind and Spiritualized territory as it progresses to full on wig out.

"Pretty Little Lazies" is another journey through the styles. Starting off as a distant cousin of the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" before becoming something that wouldn't have seemed out of place on Blur's eponymous 1997 masterpiece. Naturally, it takes a detour to wig-out central halfway through, before finishing with a dark melodic coda.

"Boogie Lover" takes a more traditional blues-rock vibe but still has a 1960's psychedelic edge, and a heavier undertone. It is the only track that approaches a standardised sound, and suffers for this a little. Possibly a couple of minutes too long as well.

"Licensed To Drive" slowly builds up with some great tom-tom work into a metal feel similar to opener "Future Shade". This is obviously a good thing.

Album closer "FD'72" heads off in the David Bowie/Depeche Mode and Joy Division direction. Lead singer Stephen McBean really channels the Berlin-era Bowie here, whilst the musical intro and outro would fit perfectly into many a thriller soundtrack.

At only 8 tracks it might seem on the short side, but only one of those is under 3 minutes and the album is a perfectly sized 43 minutes. Moreover 7 of those 8 tracks take the listener on an extravagant musical journey. One of the more intriguing albums I've heard in a while, only to be avoided by those who don't want their musical horizons expanded.

"Drown in the future shade, ain't no-one gonna save you tonight...."

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Eraserland by Strand Of Oaks - Album Review

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After "Weird Ways" heads for the stars we stay there with "Hyperspace Blues" which is one for fans of Jason Pierce's Spiritualized, and sounds just as a song with that title s…

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However, sometimes it is okay to believe the hype..
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It is crammed with catchy melodies, expert playing and excellent, if sometimes just a little too cool for school, songwriting. Right from the very start with "Heads Gonna Roll" the sweetness of the melodies is leavened with a perfectly judged dose of underlying menace and bitterness.
Mention has to be given to the Hammond solo from Benmont Tench on this track. The tone is deliciously fat and filthy in the best possible way.
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This time Neil treats us to excerpts from an Alabama show, (hence the title), from the 1973 tour previously documented on "Time Fades Away". Whilst a commercial success, the tour was fraught due to Young's grief over the drug-induced death of Danny Whitten that led to his masterpieces "Tonight's The Night" and "On The Beach", and his discomfort in translating his sound to the big arenas his success now found him playing. Neil has previously stated that "Time Fades Away" is his worst album. Those of us who have endured "Everybody's Rockin'" or "Landing On Water" might beg to differ....

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Continuing a series about songs death and dying. These are not necessarily songs that talk about the process of dying, rather as the title suggests, songs that I could imagine listening to on my death bed, or taking as consolation during or after a funeral.

Morbid? I think not, as death is part of life. If we all talked about it a little more, maybe we'd cope with it better.

No 1: featuring "Land Of Hope & Dreams" by Bruce Springsteen here

No 2: featuring "Look On Down From The Bridge" by Mazzy Star here

With that said here's my next choice.

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I love the extended musical introduction, starting with the mandolin, building with the bass and piano.It sets a lovely relaxed groove that hints at the sadness to come.
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Continuing a series about songs death and dying. These are not necessarily songs that talk about the process of dying, rather as the title suggests, songs that I could imagine listening to on my death bed, or taking as consolation during or after a funeral.

Morbid? I think not, as death is part of life. If we all talked about it a little more, maybe we'd cope with it better.

No 1: featuring "Land Of Hope & Dreams" by Bruce Springsteen here

No 2: featuring "Look On Down From The Bridge" by Mazzy Star here

No3: featuring "Gonna Be A Darkness" by The Jayhawks here

With that said here's my next choice.

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This so…

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Go here for part one featuring Neil Young.

I'm going to look at some of my favourite songs from these lesser known or ill regarded periods, continuing with a man who has had more than one period of both acclaimed and berated music, David Bowie.

Bowie had one of the greatest, in my opinion, runs of combined commercial and critical success from "Hunky Dory" in 1971 to "Let's Dance" in 1983. I'd accept the argument that you could include "The Man Who Sold The World" at the start of the list, but for me it is with Hunky Dory that Bowie's golden run started. In that run, only stop gap covers collection, "Pin Ups&…

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