YEAR ZERO (OST)

The first thing anyone who has listened to this band before may notice is that there are only five new tracks present on this 2012 release. Rock bands who have done soundtracks in the past have tended to use mostly new material with the idea of releasing the final result as a studio album as well (case in point, Pink Floyd's 'More' and 'Obscured by Clouds'). The new material here is as strong as any from the Vancouver based psychedelic collective. The recycled tracks also tend to be edits of their original form. For example, 'Bright lights' is brought down to 13 minutes from the original 17. This doesn't take anything away from the song however, which is good as it's one of their best to date. The rest of the music is what you'd expect from the band. There is plenty of heavy guitar work mixed in with the vintage keyboards and heavy drums. For me, as a keyboardist myself, Jimmy Schmidt is the standout performer on the album. His use of a lot of what are now classic keyboard sounds add a vintage sounding touch to the overall sound of the band. He also manages to give the keyboards something of a modern edge which is hard to put to explain in words so I'll just say go listen to it. The other stand out performer for me is Amber Webber. Whether she is taking the lead vocal role or providing a harmony, she manages to transport the listener spaceward. Her voice echoes out over the thunderous guitars and keyboards throughout the whole album. As with all their releases, the guitar work is of a pretty standard psychedelic affair. This is not a bad thing however as its central to their sound. So, with all that praise given, why the low rating? Well by the end of the album, I was left with a pretty strong feeling of d'j' vu. Whilst the new stuff is good, the old stuff makes one question the point in purchasing the album. If you're a fan of the band then get this, if only for the new material. If you are yet to discover Black Mountain, I would recommend an earlier release ('In the Future' perhaps).