BLACK MOUNTAIN

"Black Mountain" is the self-titled debut full-length studio album by Canadian hard rock/psychadelic rock act Black Mountain. The album was released through Jagjaguwar in January 2005. "Black Mountain" features 8 tracks and a total playing time of 46:27 minutes. Black Mountain is a five-piece act with guitars, bass, drums and keyboards as the main instruments (there is a bit of sax on the album too). There are both male and female vocals on the album.

The music on the album is late 60s/early 70s retro styled rock. A band like Jefferson Airplane comes to mind very often during the album´s playing time. Black Mountain is not a Jefferson Airplane clone though (Amber Webber is nowhere near Grace Slick in attitude and skills, although she is a decent enough vocalist). The musicianship are generally strong on the album and the interactions between the male and the female vocalists work well. I wouldn´t call the music on the album groundbreaking in any way but the quality of the material is pretty decent.

The album features an organic sound production, which provides the music with an authentic retro sound. So the album is a quality release on most parameters, but the lack of an original sound is a minor issue and it´s not all tracks that stand out equally much either, which is another slight issue. Fans of late 60s/early 70s retro styled rock and especially fans of Jefferson Airplane should probably find lots to enjoy there though. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.