Black Angels: Take Flight
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Pity the term "psychedelic". Formerly a genre encompassing creativity, exploration and, yes, experimentation, it has since been relegated to jam band nostalgia and cult-of-Jerry head shops. With the emergence of seemingly overnight cult phenoms the Black Angels, psychedelic rock has returned to its darkened roots with a vengeance. "Psychedelic is just another term," says vocalist Alex Maas from a coffee shop in Austin, Texas. "It does get thrown around a lot, but we do listen to a lot of that style of material. Anything from 13th Floor Elevators to Spaceman 3, or even bands like Clinic. I use that word for any type of adjective, like "this sushi is really psychedelic". It doesn't bother me."
Terminology aside, the Angels' debut full length Passover is a blistering feat of art-rock menace. From the unofficial single "Black Grease" to the eighteen-minute spanning closer "Call To Arms", it is an album of darkness and light that captures desert-inspired isolation with an effectiveness not seen since the Modest Mouse opus The Lonesome Crowded West. In a strange moment of clarity, the album was embraced by the underground rock community almost immediately upon its release.
"I was totally surprised by how quickly people took notice", admits Maas. "I think a lot of that had to do with touring. Honestly, our initial hometown following wasn't that big, so just getting out there really made a difference. A lot of bands just don't do that. Financial reasons, self doubt, whatever. Getting out there and playing the music every night is important."
While the band took their moniker from an infamous Velvet Underground song (their logo is also an oversaturated ode to Nico), their sound harkens moreover to another legendary group who, coincidentally, also seemed preoccupied with peyote-fueled desert wanderings. So do the Black Angels ride the snake?
"We all do listen to the Doors", laughs the singer. "I don't think it was a conscious decision to make an album that sounds like that, but musically the Doors were also an American band. The influences never really stop."
When it comes to continuing their creative outpouring within the confines of a consumer"driven industry, the Black Angels manifesto is refreshingly simple. "Shoot for the least evil path that allows you to maintain the most integrity."
