2024 Indigo Meadow by The Black Angels NEUF

Tracks:
Indigo Meadow
Evil Things
Dont Play With Guns
Holland
The Day
Love Me Forever
Always Maybe
War On Holiday
Broken Soldier
I Hear Colors (Chromaesthesia)
Twisted Light
Youre Mine
Black Isnt Black

Performer Notes:

• Personnel: Christian Bland (vocals, guitar, autoharp, celesta, harmonium, organ); Alex Maas (vocals, guitar, Native American flute, organ, Farfisa); Kyle Hunt (guitar, organ, Farfisa, percussion); Stephanie Bailey (drums, percussion).
• Audio Mixer: John Congleton.
• The opening tom hits and fuzzbox riffs that start Indigo Meadow give the indication that this is yet another turn on the Black Angels merry-go-round of stoner rock and neo-psychedelia. However, the third song, "Dont Play with Guns," takes a decided turn with its big pop single hook, and the follow-ups "Holland" and "The Day" follow suit, as songs that are more carefully structured than the usual two-chord repetition that weve grown to expect. Not that theres anything wrong with the sound of bands like Spacemen 3 and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, but after several albums based on repetition, this is a pleasant, unexpected change for the Austinites. Part of the inspiration for change is probably due to the paring down of the band into a four-piece. Song changes are easier when there are less cooks in the kitchen, and Bland, Maas, and Hunt take more chances in their songwriting, alternating who plays bass, guitar, or organ, and even spreading out their duties to include odd instruments like flutes, bass Moog, harmonium, Manetron, and a tibetan singing bowl. These bright touches give the album more of a thickly produced 60s feel than prior albums. Producer John Congleton adds just the right amount of engineering tricks like reverse tape delay to make songs like "I Hear Colors" and "Twisted Light" true to the Nuggets era. Meanwhile, as always, Stephanie Bailey holds down the show with her rock-steady but exciting style of drumming. The Angels are masters at sounding simultaneously cool as a block of ice and hot as hellfire, but the cunning pop melodies are the real key to this albums success. ~ Jason Lymangrover

Professional Reviews: Q (Magazine) (p.93) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "This fourth album finally hits the spot: three tracks in, Dont Play With Guns has to be their breakthrough tune -- soaringly catchy..."

Producer: John Congleton

Format: CD (1 Disc); Stereo

Country: USA

Studio/Live: Studio

Release Date: 2 April, 2013

Label: BLUE HORIZON.

Dimensions: 12.7 x 0.9 x 14.1 centimeters (0.06 kg)