Punknews.org | Black Mountain

Review Navigator

Features

Reviews

Black Mountain

Black Mountain
2005
Jagjaguwar

Black Mountain - Black Mountain (Cover Artwork)

Review by: Jesse
See others by this writer

Jagjaguwar Records (link)

Only registered users
can post comments

Published on September 27th 2005

Hey kids. Remember rock'n'roll? You know, all types of it. The simplicity of the Rolling Stones; the thunder of Led Zeppelin; the droning rebellion of the Velvet Underground; the dirty, raw power of the Stooges; the heavy riffs of Black Sabbath; the stoned out of your mind freak of Pink Floyd; the chanting group vocals with males and females. Wait. I don't remember those. But I guess Black Mountain does. Regardless, Black Mountain is the epitome of all forms of rock and roll (this, of course, ruling out the original fathers of the genre a.k.a. Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, etc.). On their self-titled 2005 release, Black Mountain is able to conjure up every derivative of the genre I can imagine.

It's a pity that I don't do drugs. For eight songs, Black Mountain is able to churn out just over forty-five minutes of music. The songs generally rely on a deep groove and lots of repetition, which would be totally radder if I was stoned out of my mind. That's not to say it isn't rad already. Even without the drugs, I'm digging this release. From the saxophone on the Velvet-y opener "Modern Music," which takes lyrical stabs at, you guessed it, modern music, to the sleigh bells on the "White Rabbit"-y "Faulty Times," I'm entranced in what seems to be more of a quick history of rock'n'roll as we know it. "No Hits" is a synth-heavy, straightforward bass and hand clap-driven dancey tune with the signature group vocals floating over the music. Then shit just starts freaking out. If I learned anything from James White and the Blacks and Funhouse, it's that adding a saxophone just makes your freakout that much crazier.

"Don't Run Our Hearts Around" is a classic Zep/Sabbath riff-heavy song, and "Heart of Snow" is a classic, acoustic introductiory epic that builds into a basic riff before the rock hits. Think "Stairway to Heaven" when Jimmy Page slams out the power chords.

But while I spend so much of this time relaying how the band takes influence from other groups before them, it's hard not to take note of Black Mountain's original way of composing and arranging what seems to be the same rock songs we grew up with (depending on how hip your parents were to the rock'n'roll). I think I was reading a Buddyhead interview with the band when the interviewer referred to Black Mountain as a collective. And I couldn't agree more. Black Mountain, to me, sounds like a rock'n'roll experiment by a group of people that, live, eat, and make music together. Maybe it's just the group vocals. I dunno. But I do know this: This is one band that definitely lives up to my standards. Now, I know that they carry a fair amount of hype behind them. I know that scares some of you off. But think about how many douchewads you see wearing Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath T-shirts. That doesn't stop you from listening to those records when you're alone in your house. So why should some hipster press stop you from enjoying some good ol' rock'n'roll? Plus, four out of five of the members are social workers. Rock with a conscience. How does that work?

Oh, they're Canadian.

Login to rate this album

People who liked this also liked:

Please login or register to post comments.

What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?

Share your opinion by posting comments on the stories that interest you
Rate music and bands and help shape the weekly top ten
Let Punknews.org use your ratings to help you find bands and albums you might like
Customize features on the site to get the news the way you want.

Posted by justalc on 2009-04-02 00:33:53

Damn good album. Really digging Druganaut.

Posted by elvisdechico on 2005-10-03 20:27:02
My Score:

This score is for Wolf Parde and Pitchforkmedia.

Posted by sallyjesse on 2005-09-30 23:07:49
My Score:

you should do drugs.
black mountain is 20 minutes from my house in NC. its a beautiful mountain. the town is nice too, sorta. as for this band, who cares.

Posted by boldredletters on 2005-09-29 21:10:49

the riff on don't run our hearts around demands to be mouthed out loud. you know, dun dun, duh dun dun, duh dun dun, duh dun dun DA DUN DUN DA DA DUN!

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, September 29, 2005 at 9:05 PM (EDT)

whatever happened to GWAR, they used to rock!! GWAR needs to be redone. could we get some more bands to dress up like monsters and destroy shit while singing about maggots?? SADDAM A GO GO!!

Posted by wrongstring on 2005-09-28 13:06:31
My Score:

awesome review.
reminds me of Real Ultimate Power; an older version of Robert writing rock reviews.
this is cool, and by cool i mean totally sweet.
http://www.realultimatepower.net/index4.htm

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, September 28, 2005 at 12:37 AM (EDT)

Do you like luxury?

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 27, 2005 at 1:40 PM (EDT)

one two three another pop explosion!

Posted by inagreendase on 2005-09-27 12:06:10

It's pretty odd it was this review's turn to be posted, as I missed the original airing of Will Ferrel hosting SNL, and it was repeated this past Saturday. And now I can't stop saying "Jag-u-wah."*

* - For anyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about, Ferrel played a bar patron pretending to be the Jaguar spokesman in a skit towards the end of the show.

Posted by Marlon on 2005-09-27 09:25:21

I think someone should to the stoned review #2 so Jesse can get the full spectrum he wants. I nominate myself!

Posted by shindo on 2005-09-27 06:46:01
My Score:

Love this record. Just awesome.

-adam

Posted by LevitateMe on 2005-09-27 06:13:10
My Score:

Jagjaguwar is a great label, but this is just an average record.

Posted by AlmostPunkEnough on 2005-09-27 04:57:52

jones, i like a lot of shit on Adult Swim myself. some of the 'serious' anime stuff annoys me. but i love all the original shows, ATHF especially, and the new one Stroker and Hoop has it's moments. not to mention Fooly Cooly is my shit, even though they don't play it much anymore.

do you watch Lupin? i didn't like it for the longest time, but i realized that it's actually a pretty clever show.

oh, and the DangerDoom is pretty sick, but i like a lot of 'indie rap'.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 27, 2005 at 2:26 AM (EDT)
My Score:

Black Mountain is very good. They get a little too Pink Floyd here and there for my tastes, but over all the do a good job of flirting with all things rock n' roll. They have a soaring live show aswell. If you've never heard of Black Mountain before you should check them out whether it seems like your bag or not, it's worth spending the time.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 27, 2005 at 2:10 AM (EDT)
My Score:

This score is for Wolf Parde and Pitchforkmedia.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 27, 2005 at 2:02 AM (EDT)

Danger Doom is every white boy's new best friend. It leaked in July. I dont need a crystal ball for this one. Its classic. Until Danger Mouse's next venture of course.

Posted by stevejonestherealbones on 2005-09-27 01:45:53

dangerdoom?

the one out in october on epitaph? i was just at adultswim.com and they have a preview of each track streaming. i'm not too into hip hop but i might check that out since i have a raging boner for all things adult swim related. it sounded pretty good though

- jones the bones

- stevejones8770@yahoo.com

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 27, 2005 at 1:37 AM (EDT)
My Score:

This is Great. Dont Understand why they would tour with fuckin' Gay Coldplay. Are we allowed to start talking about this years top ten releases? Definitely up there with The Hold Steady, The New Lows and of course Danger Doom.

Posted by gladimnotemo on 2005-09-27 00:45:07
My Score:

I trust Buddyhead, but I don't know about this. I will give it a listen.

Features

Contests

Reviews

Black Mountain