Directions To See A Ghost

The Black Angels - Directions To See A Ghost

Directions To See A Ghost
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Category: Music CD
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Music CD Cover

Artist: The Black Angels
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2008-05-13
Music Label: Light In The Attic
Soundtracks:
  1. You On The Run
  2. Doves (Download MP3)
  3. Science Killer
  4. Mission District
  5. 18 Years
  6. Deer-Ree-Shee
  7. Never/Ever
  8. Vikings
  9. You In Color
  10. The Return
  11. Snake In The Gras

Free Music Notes for Directions To See A Ghost

Free Music Review: The Black Angels - Directions to See a Ghost
Hit: 3 Stars

Directions to See a Ghost (2008, Light in the Attic) The Black Angels' second studio album. ***

Back in fall of 2006 I stumbled across what was then a very little-known band called the Black Angels. I had found them on MySpace through a music search of the top psychedelic artists (that's another story in itself) according to the number of fans. On the third or fourth page back in the independent label column, I found this band. I clicked the link simply because I liked the artwork that was their logo. Back then they were featuring songs from their debut album, Passover, that had been released earlier that year. Upon my first listen to "Black Grease," I instantly classified them as a mix between Zeppelin, the Doors, and the Velvet Underground.

That album - Passover, I mean - was a decent affair. For every song that was interesting to listen to, there was one that was boring. But here, on Directions to See a Ghost, the Black Angels have changed things up a bit. Maas is no longer trying to sound like anyone else. Passover found him switching between a pissed-off Lou Reed and a stoned Jim Morrison, but here Maas has accepted his own style, and that's good, because he has a very distinctive voice. As far as the music goes, it's not as gloomy as Passover, rather, it's more psychedelic. They dig even deeper into that sound, emulating the Doors, for example, on "Never/Ever," a song too similar to "The End." They emulate a heavy version of the Velvet Underground on their brilliant second track and first single, "Doves." The drones are just as strong, the slow, riff-tastical numbers are still prevalent, but with less aggravation. It's not the angry record that Passover was, and it's not as difficult to sit through.

The standout, as was with the first album, is drummer Stephanie Bailey. Never since Bonham has a drummer shown so much love for the bass drum, and her constant, churning rhythms are such a breath of fresh air in a world filled with bouncy loops. The whole band has stepped up a bit, expanding their experiments with guitar reverbs and vocal distortion. It's a trippy affair for sure, and interesting at first, but like Passover, the formula for Directions to See a Ghost is too tiring to hold up. (Doves, Mission District)

Directions To See A Ghost Poster

Last time we met The Black Angels, they were staring into the desert sun somewhere outside of Austin, Texas. Two years later, night has fallen and the spirits have come out. It's time for The Black Angels to provide Directions On How To See A Ghost. If you're familiar with Passover, the band's 2006 debut, you'll know that The Black Angels's music alone is enough to invoke spirits. There's a name for the band's sound; they call it 'hypno-drone 'n roll'. It's the sound of long nights on peyote, of dreams of a new world order, and of half-invented memories of the seamy side of '60s psychedelia. While the Iraq war is still a major influence on the band's lyrics, there are new forces at work here, including Eugene Zamyatin's dystopian novel We and in Christian Bland's words "psychic information from the past and future." See, The Black Angels really are in contact with ghosts.

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