5 out of 5

Produced by: Black Mountain, Dave Sardy

Label: Jagjaguwar

Oh, lawd yes.  Y’know, during those late 00s, a lot of bands like Black Mountain were circulating.  The indie response to the garage/glam revival of groups like the Strokes was to jump to 70s sludge, which led – in the mainstream – to Wolfmother and etc., and then on the non-mainstream tip, you had every label offering up the new gods of stoner rock, embracing the spirit of whichever reference suited the reviewer most.

I don’t know references.

I know rock.  And so do Black Mountain.

The slow tempo and build up to guitar freak outs – and appreciably hazy, fuzz-backed recording style – definitely call to mind the psych / stoner music of yore, but Mountain have their own inspirations pushing down the pedal, crafting an internal momentum that keeps our musicians’ heads down, bobbing and swaying in time while their surging compositions come to emotional peaks again and again.  Stephen McBean’s and Amber Webber’s laid back, clear singing styles are perfect complements, riding the heartbeat-beat and instantly head-nodding riffs with lyrics that are delightfully moody and contemplative.  In the Future – amusing title, that, given the 70s vibe, and especially combined with its chintzy marble madness-esque cover, underlining that blend of new and old – is a breathing, monstrous beast of an album.

The deluxe version comes with a bonus disc with three additional tracks; these tracks aren’t nearly as dense as those on the album, so it was wise to separate them, but shows the group capable of rocking out more directly (Black Cat) or even lightening up on occasion.