Wilderness Heart
(Jajaguwar)
This is the album Canadian psych-demons Black Mountain have been threatening to make since they first unleashed themselves upon the world in the middle part of this decade. Previous albums ‘Into The Future’ and their self-titled debut were littered with moments of unarguable genius, but ‘Wilderness Heart’, their latest excursion into the studio is packed from beginning to end with bona fide stand-out classics throughout. And what makes this album stand out from the pick of the current wave of stoner rock ramblers (see also Black Angels, Dead Meadow, Tame Impala etc) is Black Mountain’s ability to make every song stand on it’s own two-feet, rarely repeating themselves and rampaging through 50 plus years of rock n roll to strike out with an album that drips cool and sublime melodies from every pore.
The duel male/female vocals of Stephen Mcbean and Amber Webber effectively melt together like never before and the sheer variety of styles on here stops this album from ever getting dull. From the balls out Judas Priest (I kid you not) metal attack of ‘Let Spirits Ride’ to the dreamy, ethereal shoe-gaze stoner sway of ‘Buried By The Blues’, Black Mountain have all bases covered. And with songs like ‘Old Fangs’ and ‘The Hair Song’ adding to the sprawling psychedelic journey that is ‘Wilderness Heart’, Black Mountain have created what could possibly be the album of their career. And this year.
Don’t miss them when they play Shepherds Bush Empire in London on October 7th.
James Sherry
Watch the video, listen to and download ‘The Hair Song‘ for free below.
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