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Strider

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On 4/23/2017 at 6:42 AM, zepscoda said:

Question, the tune Dreamt off the new album, do they sample pink Floyd or replicate the Echoes sound perfectly?

I am basking in this collection of songs or "statements" . So far Dreamt is my fav, although I wish it were about 10 min longer...lol

Could be a sample or Christian might have just nailed it perfectly in the studio.

Dave, your pictures are making me jealous...the vinyl was gone by the time I got to the record shop. I just got the regular CD. I've been listening to it under various conditions (sober and not so sober) all week and will post my thoughts after one more listen tonight.

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On Sat Apr 29 2017 at 4:50 PM, Strider said:

Could be a sample or Christian might have just nailed it perfectly in the studio.

Dave, your pictures are making me jealous...the vinyl was gone by the time I got to the record shop. I just got the regular CD. I've been listening to it under various conditions (sober and not so sober) all week and will post my thoughts after one more listen tonight.

I'm listening to track 7 ( opening track to side 3 ) "Estimate" , fucking awsome with head phones !

 

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Seven days and seven nights I have lived with "Death Song", the new platter by The Black Angels.

I have listened to it over breakfast. I have listened to it at the beach. I have listened to it at work. I have listened to it on my commute. I have listened to it on the mountain trail. I have listened to it under the night stars drinking wine. I have listened to it smoking marijuana with friends.

The Black Angels have been at it long enough now that I know what to expect with their albums. Their sound hits the sweet spot of my soul. They take various bits from their influences (13th Floor Elevators, Velvet Underground, early Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, Doors, Zeppelin) and make a potent psychedelic stew of their own.

So, right off the bat, "Death Song" kicks off with two strong tracks..."Currency" and "I'd Kill for Her"...that are right in the prime Black Angels dark and greasy vein. But with this new album, the Black Angels probe the outer parameters of their sound and experiment with softer textures. There are songs such as "Half Believing" and "Estimate" that have a grace and beauty that they had only hinted at before.

At exactly the midpoint of the album, track #6, the band delivers a stone cold classic Black Angels song..."Grab as Much (as you can)". This song has everything that I love about the Black Angels and the way the bass line inverts the riff from "Inna-Gada-Da-Vida" is so catchy.

By this point in the album, I am really grooving and flying high...I am definitely digging this album more than the last one, "Clear Lake Forest", and perhaps even "Indigo Meadow". Stephanie Bailey's drums are pounding, the guitars are raging and reverberating, the bass is grooving, and Alex Maas is singing fantastic...like an androgynous Grace Slick. And the band knows how to add enough weird sonic flourishes without overdoing it.

The next two songs, "Estimate" and "I Dreamt" further my liking for "Death Song". 

"I Dreamt" has one of those solid Stephanie Bailey beats that you could dance to all night and a catchy vocal hook. Pink Floyd fans will spot a David Gilmore touch in the song.

The album marches to its conclusion...songs #9 and #10 are the kind of rockers the Black Angels can do in their sleep. They are solid but nothing out of the ordinary for them. So I am thinking, ok, this album is a return to form for the band and better than the last couple albums but is it good enough to move in the Top 3? I am not sure...

That is, until I hear the final song of the album. Track #11, "Life Song" is the song that seals the deal for me and lifts this album into the Top 3 at least of Black Angels albums. It's a spectacular end to the album, and so unexpected. 

With the Black Angels, you expect the grimy, greasy, psyche-freak rock that embodies most of the "Death Song" album. You don't expect a song so majestic, so ethereally melancholy as "Life Song". Sort of a companion piece to David Bowie's "Space Oddity".

As soon as the song was over I immediately played it again...and again.

I cannot wait to hear the new songs in concert! The band is on tour and will hit L.A. in October.

Which reminds me...why are zepscoda and I the only people on this thread? Come on people...there should be a lot more fans of this band here. Don't miss out on this band before it is too late.

Best album I have heard this year so far.

Edited by Strider
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15 hours ago, Strider said:

Seven days and seven nights I have lived with "Death Song", the new platter by The Black Angels.

I have listened to it over breakfast. I have listened to it at the beach. I have listened to it at work. I have listened to it on my commute. I have listened to it on the mountain trail. I have listened to it under the night stars drinking wine. I have listened to it smoking marijuana with friends.

The Black Angels have been at it long enough now that I know what to expect with their albums. Their sound hits the sweet spot of my soul. They take various bits from their influences (13th Floor Elevators, Velvet Underground, early Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, Doors, Zeppelin) and make a potent psychedelic stew of their own.

So, right off the bat, "Death Song" kicks off with two strong tracks..."Currency" and "I'd Kill for Her"...that are right in the prime Black Angels dark and greasy vein. But with this new album, the Black Angels probe the outer parameters of their sound and experiment with softer textures. There are songs such as "Half Believing" and "Estimate" that have a grace and beauty that they had only hinted at before.

At exactly the midpoint of the album, track #6, the band delivers a stone cold classic Black Angels song..."Grab as Much (as you can)". This song has everything that I love about the Black Angels and the way the bass line inverts the riff from "Inna-Gada-Da-Vida" is so catchy.

By this point in the album, I am really grooving and flying high...I am definitely digging this album more than the last one, "Clear Lake Forest", and perhaps even "Indigo Meadow". Stephanie Bailey's drums are pounding, the guitars are raging and reverberating, the bass is grooving, and Alex Maas is singing fantastic...like an androgynous Grace Slick. And the band knows how to add enough weird sonic flourishes without overdoing it.

The next two songs, "Estimate" and "I Dreamt" further my liking for "Death Song". 

"I Dreamt" has one of those solid Stephanie Bailey beats that you could dance to all night and a catchy vocal hook. Pink Floyd fans will spot a David Gilmore touch in the song.

The album marches to its conclusion...songs #9 and #10 are the kind of rockers the Black Angels can do in their sleep. They are solid but nothing out of the ordinary for them. So I am thinking, ok, this album is a return to form for the band and better than the last couple albums but is it good enough to move in the Top 3? I am not sure...

That is, until I hear the final song of the album. Track #11, "Life Song" is the song that seals the deal for me and lifts this album into the Top 3 at least of Black Angels albums. It's a spectacular end to the album, and so unexpected. 

With the Black Angels, you expect the grimy, greasy, psyche-freak rock that embodies most of the "Death Song" album. You don't expect a song so majestic, so ethereally melancholy as "Life Song". Sort of a companion piece to David Bowie's "Space Oddity".

As soon as the song was over I immediately played it again...and again.

I cannot wait to hear the new songs in concert! The band is on tour and will hit L.A. in October.

Which reminds me...why are zepscoda and I the only people on this thread? Come on people...there should be a lot more fans of this band here. Don't miss out on this band before it is too late.

Best album I have heard this year so far.

GREAT review!  I'm chilling at the pool with "Hunt Me Down" streaming through my ear buds as I'm typing... and as great as this tune is , I can't stop thinking about the tune right before, Comanche Moon. I can vision Native Americans entering the afterlife telling tales to their resting forefathers of lands being lost and culture being erased .

I too share the same opinion on Life Song. During my first listen, I was blown away,  song after song , just blown away. But, where was this 7+ minute epic tune...then Life Song, the last track... goose bumps!!!!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Amazing evening at the Granada last night. I took minimal pics and no video. Totally being engulfed in their sound while standing front row is mesmerizing. I was just blown away ...the place was packed and the crowed was great...  Once I find the set list I'll post it.. 

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Edited by zepscoda
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The Dallas set list:

1 Currency
2 Bad Vibrations 
3 The Prodigal Sun
4 I Dreamt 
5 Medicine
6 I Hear Colors (Chromaesthesia)
7 Black Grease
8 Grab as Much as You Can
9 Half Believing
10 Sniper at the Gates of Heaven 
11 Entrance Song 
12 Haunting at 1300 Mckinley 
13 I'd Kill for Her
14 You on the Run
15 Comanche Moon 
16 Life Song
17 Estimate 
18 Death March
19 Young Men Dead

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Now that I am back in the land of dependable cellphone reception, your report on your first Black Angels concert was my first priority, Dave. I am pleased, and not in the least surprised, that they blew you away. I have witnessed their live magic for years and have been telling people to get on board with this band before it's too late.

On 5/22/2017 at 4:51 PM, zepscoda said:

The Dallas set list:

1 Currency
2 Bad Vibrations 
3 The Prodigal Sun
4 I Dreamt 
5 Medicine
6 I Hear Colors (Chromaesthesia)
7 Black Grease
8 Grab as Much as You Can
9 Half Believing
10 Sniper at the Gates of Heaven 
11 Entrance Song 
12 Haunting at 1300 Mckinley 
13 I'd Kill for Her
14 You on the Run
15 Comanche Moon 
16 Life Song
17 Estimate 
18 Death March
19 Young Men Dead

Holy hell! THAT set list rules! I couldn't have drawn it up any better myself. I love how they still find room for early nuggets such as "Sniper at the Gates of Heaven" and "Black Grease". Man, I'm really drooling for their October show now.

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17 minutes ago, Strider said:

Now that I am back in the land of dependable cellphone reception, your report on your first Black Angels concert was my first priority, Dave. I am pleased, and not in the least surprised, that they blew you away. I have witnessed their live magic for years and have been telling people to get on board with this band before it's too late.

Holy hell! THAT set list rules! I couldn't have drawn it up any better myself. I love how they still find room for early nuggets such as "Sniper at the Gates of Heaven" and "Black Grease". Man, I'm really drooling for their October show now.

The entire new album ! ...and I'm so glad they did,  no tune should have been left out. .. one of my favorites of their catalog is Entrance Song,  the freeways they sing about go thru Dallas..I35, 75, & 45..  Here's a vid taken from a dude who was standing behind me..the sound on the vid does not do the actual sound justice 

 

....also, I was pleasantly surprised to see I wasn't the oldest on the crowd , lol

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Part of my road trip involved taking the I-45 from Houston to Dallas. Alas, it was a day later on Monday. If it had been on the night of the Black Angels show I would have joined you in the front row.

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19 hours ago, Strider said:

Part of my road trip involved taking the I-45 from Houston to Dallas. Alas, it was a day later on Monday. If it had been on the night of the Black Angels show I would have joined you in the front row.

Next time you're in town let me know... I may try to hit the LA or San Fran show...too early to know for sure. Black Angels  are off to Europe before the West Coast leg. Hopefully they keep this set list. It's been consistent so far that I can see,  no deviations.  Typically I want to see a set list change up, but this one... this one is a dream... a fucking psychedelic woven tapestry of tribal groove. It's gotta remain the same for the rest of this tour.

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  • 1 month later...

Yes, back in Dallas !!!

TEXAS –   We’ve added three dates in October with Car Seat Headrest!  Tickets on sale this Friday
10/8 Houston -  House of Blues 
10/9 Dallas – House of Blues
10/11 San Antonio – The Aztec Theater 


Info: bit.ly/TBALIVE

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  • 2 months later...
On 5/26/2017 at 5:30 PM, cosmic_juice said:

Damn this band is good ... Music is subjective and everyone has their particular tastes but this band is so sly is how they slither in your ear ... They've been eating me alive lately

Wait until you see them in concert! 

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Blew me away last night. The sound was stellar! As soon as I find the set list , I'll post it.

Sean, this show blew the show I saw on the first leg of the tour away. The sound mix was amazing,  Stephanie's drum sound was like thunder , Alex's vocals are crystal clear and the delay effects are on par with early Jane's Addiction vocal delays.... just fucking mind blowing!

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18 hours ago, Strider said:

Cool pics Chris!

One week to go! Thinking about getting some acid for the show.

I wish these guys were on tour during the days of my acid journeys  !  

The opening band Car Seat Head Rest was worth checking out, very enjoyable.  Thoes kids can jam.

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