Pink Mountaintops Get McBean Back

There have always been two sides to Stephen McBean. There is his psychedelic rock side with Black Mountain. And then there is his hypnotic lo-fi collaborative solo work with Pink Mountaintops.

The music might be different, but the consensus is the same. McBean does some dynamite stuff with sound. Get Back is an especially spirited post-punk eighties rock outing that becomes increasingly messy and addictive as it progresses.

Noisily nostalgic and classically anthemic. 

Whereas Pink Mountaintops sometimes comes across as a cast-off side project, Get Back is different. It is a formidable album, one that eclipses anything he has done in terms of electricity. It doesn't hurt that McBean has assembled an equally electric slate of guests to pull it off.

Just a handful of rotating names include J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.), Rob Barbato (The Fall), Steve Kille (Dead Meadow), Daniel Allaire (Brian Jonestown Massacre), and Gregg Foreman (Cat Power). In the studio, he recruited Randal Dunn to mix it and Howie Weinburg to master it.

The result is an off-center and cantankerous exploration, opening with the shred-heavy Ambulance City. The music feels even more unsettling while watching the video directed by Oilvia Jaffe.


Mostly, Ambulance City is a near nonsense lyrical time warp that would fit nicely in any modern reprisal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. The video was also the second released after the lukewarm reception of the grossly underrated North Hollywood Microwaves, mostly because of the exploitive second half.

Sure, Annie Hardy belts out enough lyrical filth to make Williams S. Burroughs blush against the backdrop of saxophone dips and guitar wags. Some critics argue it would have been better served clipped. Musically, probably. Artistically, not so much. It's meant to be a wreck. Mission accomplished.

Less overt is the VHS saturated The Second Summer Of Love, where McBean wonders how he could have survived all those glorious moments as a kid growing up in the eighties. And yet, he not only misses it but also wonders whether youth today even know what they are missing.

McBean channels the music of his youth Through All The Worry, which breaks down what the album is really about. It's about realizing you can't get the years back that you lost, and the irony that no one even appreciates those golden years when they are living them right now.

And while that might be the sentiment, but McBean does bring back those years musically, even if he reimagines it through the imperfect lens of his memory. Still, in listening to the album several times, he doesn't really tell it all through the lens of a 45-year-old looking back in time. Much of the the metaphors are made with a teen-like zeal.

Other standouts to listen to include the rustic and insistent Wheels, the lazy lounge lament Sell Your Soul, and the sixties-revue-through-an-eighties-lens sound of Sixteen. Combined, McBean masters why rock is entirely impossible to define because it rolls along with the times.

Get Back By Pink Mountaintops Climbs 8.1 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

Whether you consider it a second adolescence or a middle-age grab at the past, there is something immediately classic about Get Back in the way it gives a nod to nostalgia while being entirely free spirited in how those nods are made for today. At times, Get Back is frightfully familiar while obviously repurposed for today.

You can find Get Back by Pink Mountaintops on Amazon or download the album from iTunes. The LP, Get Back by Pink Mountaintops, is also available on Barnes & Noble. The band is currently touring and its schedule is listed on Facebook. Maybe what makes it all work is that McBean found inspiration when Joe Cardamone told him to sing it all like he was 21.

Angel Olsen Burns Her Fire Brighter

Raised in St. Louis before relocating to Chicago, Angel Olsen originally cut her teeth performing scores of indie folk songs inside Missouri coffee shops during her teenage years. And after that, she set out to put down records with like-minded musicians, namely our favored Bonnie “Prince" Billy.

On her own, Olsen is equally formidable. Her second solo LP is a full-throated exultation with bold, wavering melodies that rumble along in unexpected directions. The relentless thread of the album explores heartbreak, travel, and transformation, much like the personal journey she took before writing it.

Burn Your Fire For No Witness is recklessly raw and reflective. 

With all the self-assured angst of someone who has just lived it, Olsen tells us when to leave, when to love, and when to dance our away out of any nagging troubles. She does so intimately and convincingly with one unsettling and heartfelt reflection after another.

One of the first videos to be showcase the 11-track album is Hi-Five, a brooder about loneliness with an uneven country twang. She shudders and wails before eventually finding her center as she sings about bringing two lonely hearts together. They get stuck on each other.


The surreal quality of Zia Anger's video direction only adds to the vagabond quality of Olsen's near vintage sound. The only downside, perhaps, is that Hi-Five doesn't provide any real insight into her range or work, relying instead on her psychedelic folk elements.

Likewise, the other track that received an Anger video treatment is Forgiven/Forgotten, a psych pop-rock ballad that dances on the edge of forgiveness but still manages to leave you wondering. And therein lies of magic of Olsen's songwriting.

Whereas some songwriters write up sad situations with an upbeat angst, Olsen does the opposite. Forgiven/Forgotten hits you like a self-induced truth that masks the deeper wounds left by whomever and for whatever reason. Like Hi-Five, it's slow but much more unnerving.

Despite the video choices, Olsen isn't a one-speed songwriter. Since adding drummer Josh Jaeger and bassist Stewart Bronaugh, most of her material has a much fuller sound than her initial offerings. And even though many tracks flutter along, songs like High & Wild and Stars hint at a different portrait.

High & Wild is a slow burn vintage rocker that carries a psychedelic ribbon in a different direction. Stars thumps along with its fullness, giving Olsen a platform to lay down her feelings until there is nothing left. In contrast to those two, the opener Unfucktheworld highlights richly emotive lyrics — this time about lost love and the feelings of isolation that come with it.

In sum, Burn Your Fire For No Witness is a raw album that lays bare the best of Olsen's self-expression. She isn't afraid to share her soul, no matter where it might take her — soaring higher when she finds someone or lower when that someone lets her go and breaks her heart again.

Olsen's Burn Your Fire For No Witness Unsettles 7.2 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

Angel Olsen seems to have found a better path for her evolution as an indie folk artist experimenting with a more haunting and often brooding garage rock assembly. Burn Your Fire For No Witness, in particular, is the kind of the album that continually grabs your attention and makes you look up, think about, and then settle back into it again.

You can find Burn Your Fire For No Witness by Angel Olsen on Amazon. You can also order Burn Your Fire For No Witness from Barnes & Noble or download it from iTunes. Olsen is currently on an aggressive tour schedule through June in the United States and Europe. For details, visit her Facebook page.

Volcano Choir Erupts A Sonic Smash

When someone like Justin Vernon has a side project that no longer sounds like a side project, you have to wonder whether it will start to eclipse everything else. Repave by Volcano Choir is the second album put out by Vernon and its subtle, sonically acute tracks hit home perfectly.

Joined by past and present members of Milwaukee's Collection Of Colonies Of Bees, Repave has taken a very large turn from the Bon Iver sound. Sure, the shadow of it still exists but not so much that people will resurrect the name. This is something different.

Even when it comes across as a bit inconsistent, this is an album that can easily sweep you away if you let it. Just sit back somewhere you can watch some clouds rolling overhead. Those clouds best describe the album. They float along aimlessly in one direction, just like Repave.

Repave By Volcano Choir is a diversion and direction.

Repave is an impressive second outing by a young band with experience that runs more than a mile deep. And if there is any criticism to be dished out about it or what it is trying to achieve, then that criticism can be confined to what was released first.

Byegone is a brilliant song, strong enough to eclipse everything else on the playlist by begging you to leave the familiar behind. There is no heavy-handed reason for you to do it, just the confirmation that you are competent to set out for something new. All you need is the confidence to do it.


It's almost impossible to top an indie pop composition like Byegone. The track will resonate for nearly a minute if you let it. Just don't let your playlist advance to the next song after the last note and you'll hear it linger for awhile.

Many of the songs come close to having the same kind of power. Alaskans, for example, truly sets the tone of the album. The whole change of what Vernon is going through can be heard there, quietly reflective and contemplative. It's also the track that the title came from, Repave. Fix your losses, friends.

Unlike the first album that saw the band coming together just to discover what kind of music they could make together, Repave is different. This time, they figured out everything together; not just Vernon, but everyone. It sets every inch of this outing apart. They aren't learning to be a band; they're a band.

Along with Vernon, all of them — Thomas Wincek, Matthew Skemp, Jon Mueller, and Chris Rosenau — are peaking as musicians. Some of the standout tracks include the quiet of Tiderays, the subtle defiance of Acetone, and the uplift inside Comrade (below). Don't worry if those sound disjointed. Listening to the entire album carries its own sense of balance.


It's this sense of balance that brings the band together. Vernon himself has repeated over and over again that his work on Volcano Choir is more confined as a lyricist and singer. There isn't any reason not to believe him, especially given how sonically experimental this album can be.

Repave By Volcano Choir Touches 8.2 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

There is so much restraint and so little release on Repave that it sometimes feels both trapping and freeing at the same time. That in itself is perfect. If anything, that is exactly what this album is about.

You can find Repave by Volcano Choir at Amazon or download it from iTunes. You can also find the CD at Barnes & Noble. Considering it has been almost four years since the band released their Unmap debut, this one is right in time. The openness of the work will no doubt translate during their live performances as they share stories about change, sadness, loss, and attempting to become something better than they are — even if they never considered that they could be. Fill that hole.

The Cave Singers Squint To See Naomi

While it's easy to frame up Naomi by The Cave Singers as an expectant fourth album that plays mostly to its slowest niche, doing so sells some of its subtler elements short. There are a few gems amidst an album made of mostly sunbeams.

Sure, the band seems to have given up some grittier qualities that accompanied its neo-folk beginnings on Invitation Songs or the wildly trippy brilliance that accompanied No Witch. There have been other changes too; Phil Ek signed on as producer and Morgan Henderson (Fleet Foxes) signed on to play bass.

When you consider some of most recent albums produced by Ek, including Heaven by The Walkmen, Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes, and Fear Fun by Father John Misty, his influence feels even more pronounced on Naomi. He tends to help bands craft songs and ease up their instruments.

The Cave Singers stay true to a couple tunes on Naomi.

While there is plenty to like about the chemistry and composition of the 12-track album, the best tracks still have more bite like the some of the band's previous releases. The best track to collect is It's A Crime. It carries some of the twang that makes frontman Pete Quirk so addictive of a listen, especially when it's played live.


The angst in the track is media feeding your girl fear, contrasted with a stripped back trash guitar riff. The studio version plays the same, but without as much cracking passion as Quirk puts on stage.

This is what almost makes the entire album misleading as Have To Pretend plays different live too. They all do. It's part of who Quirk is as a singer. He gives back much of what the audience gives him.

And then there is the poetic cadence in the music, sheets of lyrics that almost never repeat. No Tomorrows is just one example as Quirk searches for the quiet resolve somewhere in between losing someone and realizing that it will be all right. Canopy plays the same way with a different message. There is a sense of atonement in the tone and a resolution in knowing that everything will be fine.

The irony is what makes the album work makes it not work for reviewers. 

It's really difficult to call Naomi a great album because it only comes across as a good album. And yet, more accurately, it is a great album that only masquerades as a good album because the arrangements don't feel dynamic enough to challenge Derek Fudesco (The Murder City Devils) on guitar or Marty Lund on drums. Even Quirk is restrained in order to make the fuller sound that Ek albums frequently find.

The idea was likely to showcase the lyrics alongside the familiar structures because the album is a celebration of the beauty found in the every day — addiction, car ownership, fireworks, tree houses. So with the exception of the addictively classic It's A Crime or Paul Simon reminiscent song Shine, most the album relies on simple melodies and hooks and deeply wrought lyrics.

If previous albums explored the dark, this one explores the light because the band wanted to make their music a cure as one lyric line suggests — I'm done with sorrow, don't need to follow. And by that self-defined measure, the album does work. The only downside is that you have work to hear it that way.

Naomi By The Cave Singers Follows 3.8 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

The album was named after the farthest star within sight. They chose her to be their fictional muse, a quiet reflection that hopes to make miracles out of the mundane. It does that, even if the other side of the coin suggests there are only two ways to listen to this album — on a still day just before or after the rain when you're alone or interwoven with the last three albums by The Cave Singers to mix it up.

Give a couple tracks some time and you might find a few that are timeless. They were meant to be that way, with Quirk and company taking months to write them and one month to record them. You can find Naomi on Amazon. It also available for download from iTunes or on vinyl at Barnes & Noble.

Dinosaur Jr. Makes A Bet On The Sky

J Mascis has been busy and his business has been of the best kind. After several projects, including Several Shades Of Why, the original Dinosaur Jr. lineup snuck into the studio once again to shake up their sound and produce their third album since 2007 (tenth since 1985, although several without Murph and Lou Barlow).

If I Bet On Sky proves anything, it's that J Mascis is even more comfortable producing the music he wants to make without any concern for anything else. It's in this space when Mascis sounds his best, along with Emmett "Murph" Murphy and Barlow (Sebadoh). As music pioneers, people expect them to press ever on with their pop-rock-punk uniqueness. They never disappoint.

I Bet On Sky rolls out with 10 plus one. 

Eleven tracks will give people plenty to talk about, especially with Mascis' beautifully indifferent vocals over the distinct whine of their guitars and consistently tight drums throughout most of the album. Of course, Mascis doesn't sing all eleven. Barlow takes the lead vocals on two, Rude and Recognition.

The first track to be taken in, Watch The Corners, was released in advance of the album as a music video. Like many of the songs, it rolls along with introspection and the passage of time — how we do things, lose things, miss things, and will never have the chance to get them back.

There's a sadness to the song, a loneliness like almost nobody but Mascis can deliver. It also makes you wonder how much the soft-spoken singer-songwriter sometimes reflects on his own life in every somber melodic note.



On the album, Watch The Corners follows Don't Pretend You Didn't Know, which has a similar tempo but with Mascis relying on keys more than his signature guitar. The opener is about waiting for something to spur you along past your fears and toward your dreams. It's mostly about a girl, but it doesn't have to be.

The same might be said about Almost Fare, with more heaviness in the instruments and punctuated by indecision. There's a solid groove to the tune and it makes a perfect lead-in for the ballad Stick A Toe In, where Mascis' lyrics finally seem to get around to doing something instead of sitting back almost unnoticed in a self-reflective corner of the room.

The first four make the punkier attitude of Rude provide a change of pace. It's much less dreamy and much more physical, giving the album the perfect bounce. Along with the punk influence, there is also some folkiness to it. Although still reasonably low key, Rude has a bit of rawness that would make for a  lead-in to a jam session.

The balance of a good bet on music. 

With Rude bringing up the tempo, Mascis brings it up on I Know It Oh So Well. It's a great song, with some introspection and a relentlessly even beat. Pierce The Morning Rain is one of the most consistent and clearest tracks, with a few brilliant guitar riffs tucked inside. For as short as it, it's most reminiscent of classic Dinosaur Jr. and has an immediate impact. The album name comes from this song.

See It On Your Side closes out the album with some of the band's best guitar work. After two of the weaker tracks on the album, this one stands out as one that will be long remembered for its lyrics, composition, and occasionally chaotic intensity across the instrumentals.

The eleventh track is truly a bonus. This live version of Pond Song from Bug brings it up to date, with Mascis' increasingly muddy and raspy voice making it even more interesting than when it was first released. Playing the original studio version against this live recording gives a glimpse into how the band has changed and matured — all of it, if not almost all of it, for the better.

I Bet On Sky By Dinosaur Jr. Wins With 8.8 On Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

Dinosaur Jr. is one of those bands that every album, whether together or apart, dresses up another generation of influence. Even when they play their old songs, they catch people by surprise. Pond Song is a great example. When it was released, it was one of their best underrated songs. Nowadays, people ask for it.

I Bet On Sky by Dinosaur Jr. was put out by Jagjaguwar and can be found on Amazon. You can also find the album at Barnes & Noble or download it from iTunes. They have several shows lined up in support of the album and you can keep up with them on Facebook. The hero shot above is from their release day party via Instagram.

Steeple Sets A New Stage For Wolf People

Although the band was formed just four years ago, it is safe to say Wolf People is firmly rooted in the past. Their entire album, Steeple, is reminiscent of a 1970s rock classic. But it wasn't recorded in the 70s. It was recorded this year.

Before Steeple, this British quartet had only released 7” singles and one limited edition EP called Tidings. Where Tidings only hinted at potential greatness, Steeple delivers. This is an album everyone would have bought back in the 70s, and it's smart to have it today.

Best described as genre shifting, but with firm roots in blues, electric English folk, progressive rock, and psychedelic rock, Wolf People is influenced by all the greats: Jimi Hendrix, Blind Faith, Cream, Led Zeppelin, and Jeff Beck.

Some people say there is some Black Sabbath in the mix too. I don't know. Despite influences, Wolf People clearly blaze their own path with a massive sound. They emulate far less than many throwbacks, with the musicians strong enough to stand on their own.

Wolf People Gave Steeple Deeper Roots Than The 1970s.

Band members Joe Hollick, Dan Davies, Tom Watt and frontman Jack Sharp recorded Steeple in a converted chicken barn located on the grounds of a 17th century Welsh farm. And yeah, that in and of itself helps create some very poignant 70s rock.

The result is well worth the effort, especially with Watt’s unabashed driving percussion, roaring rhythm, blazing riffs, and Sharp’s solid voice. The latter sometimes takes criticism for getting lost in the mix or not being strong enough. I vehemently disagree, having grown up in an age when the vocals were part of the music. Sharp's voice is the icing on a heavily layered cake. Heavy, like Tiny Circle.


As for Steeple, there isn't a bad track in the mix. And, the purposeful vinyl scratch that can be heard here and there only adds to the allure.

Some standouts include Silbury Sands with its righteous kickass riffs, and Tiny Circle for some fearsome flute that pays homage to Ian Anderson. After that, it's a nice piece of twisty metal in One By One from Dorney Beach and a blistering solo tucked inside Painted Cross. The latter might be the masterpiece of the album.

Wolf People's Steeple Howls With A 7.6 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

The easiest way to sum up Steeple is to call it what it is: timeless, consistent, and only slightly self-indulgent. That's by design. And it's also why indie label Jagjaguwar has a real find here.

You can find Steeple by the Wolf People on iTunes. On Amazon, look for Steeple [+Digital Booklet].

What you won't find is Wolf People on tour. We're hoping to see a schedule soon beyond an event booked at the O2 Academy Islington. And if we're very lucky, maybe they'll join fellow labelmates Black Mountain again.

Take A Trip To The Wilderness With Black Mountain

In 2004, the indie rock label Jagjaguwar signed a Canadian psychedelic rock band for an EP release that added two bonus tracks to a 12-inch single. An album followed that appealed to critics, but only received a lukewarm reception among a fans.

It would be three long years before the band would put out another EP after the immediate success of Stay Free from the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack. It also received nods from Canadian music circles, but didn't resonate too much beyond the Great White North.

Wilderness Heart is different. As a follow-up that took half the time, it sounds twice as good. While the band has a sound still reminiscent of the seventies, the lyrics seem more tuned to today. The entire album has more energy behind it.

Wilderness Heart Is A Trip Worth Taking.

Black Mountain consists of Stephen McBean (guitar and vocals), Amber Webber (vocals), Matt Camirand (bass), Jeremy Schmidt (keyboards), and Josh Wells (drums and keys). Throughout the album, McBean and Webber tag team as lead singers and offer up some duets.

Webber isn't nearly as powerful a singer as McBean; she's more weary than wild. And with the possible exception of Old Fangs, she tends to fit in best as a contrast to the voice that wakes you up. McBean is well known for his smoky vocals that front this band, the more experimental The Pink Mountaintops, and other projects.

All in all, If anyone was wondering what album would help Black Mountain find its groove, Wilderness Heart is it, especially on tracks like The Hair Song.


Adding to these upbeat semi-retro riffs, Old Fangs, The Way To Gone, Rollercoaster, and the title track, Wilderness Heart, all have something to offer. So do the closers.

The Space Of Your Mind and Sadie both take advantage of McBean's brooding voice, set against plush jams and darker notes. Skip Radiant Hearts unless you buy the album for the The Hair Song remix, which might be worth it.

All in all, Black Mountain has progressed nicely, perhaps even borrowing from their experiences with varied ventures, all with unique sounds. Wilderness Heart borrows much more of what works with a little less Sabbath and a little more Zeppelin without taking anything too seriously. McBean roughly described the album as folk metal before it came out.

Wilderness Heart By Black Mountain Trips With A 7.6 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

On that note, when critics sometimes review Black Mountain, they forget this frontman isn't so serious. When Black Mountain first started, many people associated it with being the front band for the Black Mountain Army.

While the "army" idea took off as "a collective of musicians," McBean later said it started as a joke. The "army" wasn't much more than all his musician friends in Vancouver. McBean just wants to have a good time. He has the right people with him to do it.

Wilderness Heart is available on iTunes. You can also find Wilderness Heart (with a digital booklet) on Amazon.

Black Mountain currently has its Website set to its Facebook page. If you see a shark, you've found it.