On April 21, Austin-based psych-rock band The Black Angels, released Death Song. The record brings together the two parts of the Velvet Underground’s song title, “The Black Angel’s Death Song,” a track that inspired the band’s name. With classic psych-rock bands such as The 13th Floor Elevators and The Moving Sidewalks tracing their roots to the Lone Star State, it’s refreshing to hear bands from the area keep up the tradition. Death Song goes on a journey to recapture this essence of the psychedelic ’60s and looks to give it a 2017 makeover with modernized and relevant lyrics.
While the lyrics of Death Song are written with modern social and political themes, the instrumentation is reminiscent of the psychedelic culture adopted by our parents and grandparents. The tracks are noisy and distorted, giving them a sense of heaviness and a clout that sometimes leaves no room for thought, but plenty of space to head bang. However, without much variation in some tracks like “Currency” and “I’d Kill For Her,” the jarring guitar riffs can be overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time.
Despite this, the band goes out of its way to slow things down and allow the reverb of the vocals and the guitar to explore musical space. This works best in tracks like “Hunt Me Down” and “Estimate,” where these effects avoid being a cluttered collection of abrasive guitars that overshadow a subtle bass, but instead give themselves enough time to develop within the listener’s mind. It was in tracks like these where the “psych” of the genre is well-presented; here, the instruments and the washed out nature of the vocals gave me a sense of melting walls and flashing colors associated with hallucinogenic trips.
While the instrumentation is drenched in potent acid nostalgia, the lyrics hold on to more up-to-date themes, usually revolving around societal problems. For instance, “Comanche Moon” goes over the misfortunes of Native Americans throughout history. “Currency” lays its foundation on the controlling aspect of currency and capitalism. While this is all well and dandy, there isn’t much depth to any of the lyrics. The sentences are simple and weightless and do not require much thought on part of the listener to understand.
This is especially apparent in songs like “I Dreamt,” where the lyrics fall victim to the same repetitiveness that plagues the guitar in other songs; the songwriting just seems outright lazy. Repetitiveness forces the band to rely on other musical aspects to carry a song along. While this worked fairly well in “Estimate,” where the lyrics and their delivery overshadow the foundation of the non-changing guitar, the lyrics are too shallow here to have the same effect. What’s left is a disorientation of theme being blindly guided by riffs just as shallow.
Overall, the better tracks on the album overshadowed the negative aspects of Death Song, so much so that I found myself easily forgetting about the bad tracks and caught myself playing the good ones over and over.
The tracks that really shine in Death Song are “Hunt Me Down,” where the simple vocals go well with the simple instruments and enjoy a playful confidence reminiscent of a composed juggler juggling bowling balls; “Estimate,” an awesome track that delivers a more modern psychedelic take on the Velvet Underground sound while incorporating a western/bluesy element that reminds me a of a reliable pair of blue jeans; “Medicine,” a feverishly energetic sound that’s hard not to sing along to; and “Life Song,” a drawn out number that ends the album and gives me a Doors vibe.
Death Song gets a 6.5 out of 10.
Contact CU Independent Arts writer Alvaro Sanchez at alvaro.sanchez@colorado.edu.
