The Black Angels Do Clear Lake Dives

With the band still looking for a hook as strong as Phosphene Dream, Austin-based The Black Angels found renewed inspiration by visiting a new sonically-charged location. Clear Lake Forest casts a bigger blues influence on what has become an expectant recipe of psychedelic relapse rock.

"After roaming through the Indigo Meadow, the time has come to journey to Clear Lake Forest," says Christian Bland (guitar/organ). "Where seven tales of diamonds, executioners, and other strange occurrences await underneath the crystal waves lapping in the lake."

It's in these stories that Bland, together with Stephanie Bailey (drums), Kyle Hunt (bass, keys, guitar), and Alex Maas (vocals), reimagine the more sinister side of their music. An Occurrence At 4507 South Third Street, for example, slowly swells from its organ-driven pulse into a flickering glimpse at the life of a gunfighter or criminal as he hangs from his neck until dead. Or something like that.

Clear Lake Forest is hazy, unsettling, and submergent. 

Clear Lake Forest stands out as an EP for its aim to make almost all seven tracks sound as if they were inspired by something seen an inch or two beneath the waterline. Peering into the silt-laced water, you can sometimes see remnants of the past trapped underneath the surface but without any real certainty.

The only way to know whether your eyes are playing tricks on you or not is to reach in and grab hold of it. The feat would be easy enough to do if not for that nagging sensation of being trapped.

Linda's Gone is an eerie and somewhat quirky ditty about a country bumpkin who follows her dreams and makes the move to the city. She doesn't have much of a chance to make it, quickly slipping into prostitution and drug abuse until there is nothing left of her.

The writing isn't nearly as a overt as that on any track and, likewise, not every track is as desperate or as murky. The Flop is considerably more fun. It provides a respite of sorts to mark the center of the EP and give it some heart.


Other tracks that give another nod to the more playful side of the sixties include the opener Sunday Evening. Under the guise of being a sticky sweet bubblegum melody, Maas hints at the afterlife and why it doesn't make sense to be afraid of it. The subtle touch of surf rock makes it perfect.

Tired Eyes and Diamond Eyes carries forward more carefree and inviting with its transportive powers. You can't help but to feel like being part of the hippiedom that inspired the sound. In more ways than one, it is these tracks that provide the lure for darker, more hypnotic material.

The Executioner would quality if it wasn't the weakest track on the album. Other than a possible link to An Occurrence At 4507 South Third Street, the reverb blots out too much of the music. It's a bit of a mess, despite the riveting consequence of lyrics before being blown out in the echo chamber.

Overall, there are times when the connections between Clear Lake Forest and the artists that inspire The Black Angels are too evident. But that is largely forgivable as the band bounces back from the lighter fare of Indigo Meadow to create a brilliantly textured mini-concept album.

Clear Lake Forest By The Black Angels Dives 7.1 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

The darker, more haunted soundscapes remain the most compelling contributions to the band's repertoire, even if tracks like Tired Eyes and Diamond Eyes will receive the most play time. Both are a bit drug induced, but the guitars and harmonies make up for it. They both represent the "do what you want" part before the band starts dishing out some deadly consequence.

You can find Clear Lake Forest by The Black Angels on Amazon or download the EP from iTunes. The vinyl LP has been out longer than its digital counterparts. The vinyl edition of Clear Lake Forest can be picked up at Barnes & Noble. For tour dates, find them on Facebook.

The Black Angels Buzz Indigo Meadow

Phosphene Dream was a heavily textured breakout album for the Black Angels, highlighting the dark side of the sixties as told by five psychedelic rockers who had hit their stride three years ago. It took some time to catch on, but the band eventually earned the attention they deserved.

Their fourth release, Indigo Meadow, is seeing a lift a little sooner as a result. And while the Austin-based band has kept some of its contemporary-vintage vision together, expect that this new outing isn't nearly as dark (and sometimes not as honest). It isn't and wasn't meant to be.

Instead, Alex Maas (vocals, bass, organ), Stephanie Bailey (drums, percussion), Kyle Hunt (keyboards, percussion, bass, guitar), and Christian Bland (guitar, organ) opt for a long and winding slide of standalone tracks with the illusion of diversity despite giving guitarist Nate Ryan his walking papers last year. Right on. The band might be leaner, but they also sound tighter as they string together songs that represent an evolution of the band over nearly a decade.

Indigo Meadow is an intensely filling psychedelic relapse. 

Unfortunately, the decision to capture the essence of the Black Angels across four albums has already been lost on some critics. Many of them point out that while the hazy atmosphere is intact, familiarity can breed contempt. Some say the album is too formulaic; others claim it's too disjointed.

And the answer? It isn't in the middle. It's in the contradiction. The album teeters back and forth between self-medicated and mildly pretentious. Sometimes the band relies on old tricks to make things tick and sometimes they try something new that doesn't play as well as they would hope.

This might even be attributed to how the album came together. The Black Angels started writing the album as a sit down process (as opposed to writing while on tour) right around time they had a break with their former bandmate. The idea was to spend more time crafting their songs and writing lyrics. Then they took a few months off before recording, which puts an interesting twist on the album.

Indigo Meadow tracks sound better on their own or as part of the larger Black Angels experience than they do as an album. Even the lead-off title track, as seen in the live fan capture, rolls out with the right mournfulness before becoming lost in looking for a climax. It sets the mood for another song with bite.


Other tracks don't sound as wistful. Evil Things is appropriately dark, exploring the split between bad deeds done in the past and righteous paths laid out ahead. Much like the album's theme, it's about the capacity to be evil or benevolent or, as hinted at in the title, somewhere along that razor thin division on the spectral plane between blue and violet. Half the time, our eyes can't see it.

Holland also rides the line before surrendering to the dark while Twisted Light attempts to entice us into it. The latter attempt is almost a miss as the arrangement pummels more than it creates the right atmosphere. The better time-travel-to-the-sixties track is I Hear Colors (Chromaesthesia), alluding to a perception bending trip from the era.

For something more out of the ordinary for the Black Angels, check out the straight rocker The Day or the oddly upbeat track You're Mine. The latter is mostly about two lovers who neither want to be together nor be apart. Love Me Forever also leans light while Broken Solider carries a message that isn't as overt as it seems on the first pass.

Indigo Meadow By The Black Angels Lights 5.7 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

Although not as strong as Phosphene Dream, Indigo Meadow delivers just enough neo-psychedelic treats to keep the touring arsenal fresh. As these tracks blend in, especially matched to the previous albums that inspired them, the standouts will likely separate themselves from the album.

Indigo Meadow is available on Amazon. You can also order vinyl from Barnes & Noble or download a specially mastered version for iTunes. While the album has plenty of highlights, there isn't much need to purchase it in entirety. Stick with Indigo Meadow, Evil Things, Holland, and whatever other track strikes you.

Phosphene Dream By The Black Angels Shares The Sixties' Dark Side

Phosphene Dream is the third release by the Texas-based Black Angels, and it is their masterpiece. Released on the Blue Horizon label in September 2010, it conveys the dark, less innocent side of the Sixties and hippiedom.

Without a doubt, this is the side that Scott McKenzie couldn’t even conceive of when he sang the song San Francisco. Songs from the band’s Directions To See A Ghost CD were featured in the History Channel’s documentary about Charles Manson (called simply Manson).

It's about as terminal as the Sixties could get.

The songs on Phosphene Dream bring together bits of influences from Jesus and Mary Chain, Blue Cheer, Roky Erickson (Black Angels served as his backing band in 2008), and the Velvet Underground. The latter is responsible for The Black Angel’s Death Song, which is where the band takes its name.

The CD's title is fitting; phosphene is the phenomenon of seeing light without the light ever entering the eye. But what makes it a truly remarkable showing is the distinct psychedelia. It's dark, textured, and retro.


Sunday Afternoon also owes a nod (a tribute, perhaps) to Erickson’s 13th Floor Elevators. Yellow Elevator #2 has some Beatles influence, but not in the way the Beatles might have liked. And Haunting at 1300 McKinley is ethereal and downright ghostly. Hell, if you listen closely, there’s even a bit of the Monkees, somewhat darkly, inside.

But what really makes the sound stand out over the previous two releases — Passover and Directions To See A Ghost — is less heavy jam sessions. It works to the band's advantage, enabling the group to focus on strong rhythms, reverb-heavy guitars, and trippy, dreamland vocals.

The Black Angels got it right this time. And the credit belongs singer Alex Maas (also bass, guitar, and keyboards; Nate Ryan (bass, guitar, and drums); Stephanie Bailey (drums, percussion, and bass); Kyle Hunt (keyboards, percussion, bass, and guitar); and Christian Bland (guitar, bass and drums). All strong strong musicians with a dark, shadowy vision.

The Black Angels’ Phosphene Dream Ascends To 8.8 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

It's no surprise that previous touring partners have included The Black Keys, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Raveonettes, and the great Roky Erickson. Currently, The Black Angels are spreading their brand of love through the United States. Make it live.

Phosphene Dream by The Black Angels is on iTunes. You can find Phosphene Dream on Amazon, and a slightly different Phosphene Dream [Exclusive Version].