IV

"For those concerned: There is both guitar and synthesizer on this album" can be read in the gatefold of Black Mountain's fourth album, their first in six years. It sure has a lot of keyboards (mainly Moog, Mellotron and Hammond), but I think there's a really good balance and cooperation between keyboards and guitars.

The album has a very atmospheric 70's Space Rock sound, but also maintains some of the Pop Rock approach that was present on their previous works. It contains slow-building laidback spacey tracks ("Mothers of the Sun", "Space to Bakersfield"), radio-friendly rocker songs ("Florian Saucer Attack", "Defector", "Constelations") , acoustic ballads ("Line Them All Up", "Cemetery Breeding", "Crucify Me") and more cosmic/industrial Electronic based songs ("You Can Dream", "(Over and Over) The Chain". These two especially remind me of Jeremy Schmidt's excellent solo project, Sinoia Caves).

All these tracks have in common (and are held together by) a gloomy mood, which matches perfectly with Amber Webber's vocals. Bonus points to the energic and meditative rhythmic section, the cool psychedelic guitars and the very nice vocal harmonies.

It's a very enjoyable and diverse album with a really good production and a weirdly memorable cover that looks great on vinyl.

4 stars.

1. Mothers Of The Sun precise intro as we dream it, this repetitive ouh, this soft flute, this warm, languorous organ, this divine voice of Amber; a prog crossover nay a good stoner rock yes for the mantra sound and voice; the guitar leers at the MONKEY3 or vice versa, sublime; 8 psychedelic minutes with Hammond, Mellotron which pass without realizing it with the return of the divine flute, me who doesn't usually like that 2. Florian Saucer Attack with this 70's psyche side, yes it's confirmed, a sound that the WHITE STRIPES will undoubtedly like with Warren on vocals; it moves, it's rock, it's full, it's danceable and the crazy-crazy clip à la 'Heavy Metal' reassures me in their trips 3. Defector sets off on an airy electro rock space that's a bit vintage by the sound of the instruments, not by the tune played, dynamic 4. You Can Dream...it's all written; you can just take the air, still very electro-melancholy-monotonic; when electronic music meets stoner, or when TANGERINE DREAM meets ORESOUND SPACE COLLECTIVE; stunning and catchy, monolithic and hypnotic 5. Constellations changes completely with a punchy rock air embellished with a heady and slightly redundant riff.

6. Line Them All Up acoustic guitar on a delicious voice, from the days of FLEETWOOD MAC for example with a choir sampled in the distance to add to the languid spleen state; a grandiloquent side emerges with an aerial psyche 70 drums 7. Cemetery Breeding is more of an intimate folk rock, an ounce of synth with SPARKS to pleasantly clash, a de facto pop-song piece where the voice is raw 8. (Over And Over) The Chain for the second slap; end of the world atmosphere, a pure, simple but terribly effective sound again on the Berliner school (that's why I like it!); a stoner prog rock mantra rears its ugly head from the 3 minute mark, over and over and so on; the guitar twisting like TANGERINE DREAM and the flight takes off; the finale returns to the origins, stunning and completely psychedelic, magnificent with the Hammond and the Mellotron, 9. Crucify Me with a reverberant sound, search that finds a raw guitar arpeggio, hold it raw like that of an LED ZEPPELIN yes you get it; solemn air reminiscent of the SIGUR ROS a time for sound and voice glossolalia before taking off; the fat synths swell and amplify the vocal murmur; its vintage today, innovative, progressive paradox continuing on 10. Space To Bakersfield and its 3rd musical caviar; soaring organ, yes the PINK FLOYD psyche are not far away but the air is very recent; a dreamlike crescendo soaring and progressively stoner, an orgasmic build-up with ethereal voice-overs; the finale gives on touches of SPACE with the disco synth on the guitar; gorgeous.