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 With two albums under their belt Black Mountain strikes gold with their third release, In the Future. Black Mountain hails from the seaside city of Vancouver BC and draws from blues, psychedelic acid rock, a mix of Velvet Underground, the Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin to create their own unique distinct sound. Black Mountain is comprised of Stephen McBean on vocals acoustic and electric guitars, Matthew Camirand on bass guitar, Jeremy Schmidt on organ, synthesizer, and mellotron, Amber Webber on vocals and percussion, and lastly Joshua Wells on drums, percussion and piano. The album opens with tenacious track entitled “Stormy High” the name fits the sound perfectly. Its freewheeling and driving rhythms are accented by howling vocals. Put these ingredients together and a thunderstorm might just erupt. Next up is “Tyrants,” multidimensional work of art, the pure sonic driven guitars feed pounding heartbeat like drums, which is accented by the droning, eerie, mellotrons with frequent key and tone changes. As soon as this ride, which transcends time and space, the gears shift to the stripped down folk of “Stay Free.” McBean brings the acoustic, bells, tambourines, and a mellow mood accompanied by Webber’s reflective falsetto vocals. In the end a deep, lush ballad arises. “Tyrants” pales in comparison to the truly epic “Bright Lights.” Mcbean unleashes his full creative and musical force. The number brings echoes from Pompeii with hypnotic keyboards, fuzzy electronics, and alternating vocals. This masterpiece spans just about every style of rock and folk from the 60s and 70s until it’s spacey and stratospheric conclusion 17 minutes later. “Wild Wind” follows and its folky sound sends the listener back to Old West with an open stretch of highway in front of them, but it’s like your favorite candy bar and like a candy bar the pleasure only lasts for a few minutes. If only it could last longer.
All in all Black Mountain takes their listeners for a ride or a trip whichever you prefer. Listeners will be transported to Black Mountain’s own unique mystical musical dimension. Oh, and I’ll see you there anytime.
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