By Todd Lavoie
Does heavy make you happy? Then cancel any plans you might have for this coming Monday, Feb. 4 – that’s when Vancouver time-travelers Black Mountain besiege the Independent for a round or two of seriously sludgy soothsaying, in support of their just-released mindwarper In The Future (Jagjaguwar). If you’ve ever been known to hanker for end-is-nigh chug-a-ramas and sci-fi lullabies, bust out that wallet, buck: these crazed Canadians are onto something magnificently mighty.
Let’s get the inevitable out of the way, shall we? Stoner rock – there, I said it. You’d be hard pressed to find a conversation about Black Mountain without coming across those two little words somewhere along the way, and you know what? For a damn good reason, that’s what: these guys – and gal – don’t so much pay tribute to the ’60s and ’70s as they do dwell amongst the ghosts of those decades, wafting and weaving about in bong-hugging formations.
Lest that description sound pejorative or, worse yet, like a back-handed compliment, let me clarify: this isn’t noodling go-nowhere music, sacrificing songwriting for patchouli-powered “vibe-making,” nor is it a tired, calculated retread of your dad’s/older brother’s teenage bedroom stereo-pumping. Rather, head honcho Stephen McBean and bandmates have managed to digest the entire history of so-called classic rock and fashion a fascinating new hybrid from the bits and pieces.