The Black Angels Issue #36

Directions To See a Ghost (Light in the Attic)

By Erin Wolf
Published: August 1st, 2008 | 10:37am

Music conjuring has never sounded quite so bewitching as when taken from the cauldron of the Black Angels. Part Jesus and Mary Chain, Brian Jonestown Massacre, and part Clinic, the Black Angels use sitars as icing on their concoctions; however, this is no version of Ravi Shankar. Yes, the drone-y hum that a sitar provokes is evident, but the ever-present guitar fuzz and swirling feedback rock it forward to a different dimension, first glorified by 13th Floor Elevators’ invention of psych rock.

“You on the run, son / Since 1981," vocalist-guitarist Christian Bland calmly declares as he echoes Jefferson Airplane’s female vocal counterpart, Grace Slick. Picking up from their nostalgic but still refreshing and intriguing debut, Passover, the Austin band returns with Directions to See a Ghost, sweeping in like a veritable black cloud over a clear sky — never hovering, always rotating and morphing, stirring up new sounds drawn from a dark vein. Electricity throbs from every square inch of every amplified instrument — waves of static so great, it sparks and shocks, despite the murmur it creates.

The hypnotic "Science Killer" wavers to and fro before drummer Stephanie Bailey startles a reality check with her methodicalplay-out of bass versus snare. Other stand-out tracks include the Pony's-esque rock of "Doves," and the spooky trance-organ of "18 Years." Directions to See a Ghost could play out as onelong, washed-out, trippy ride, but the Black Angels have the knack to beguile with their ever-altering concoction of torrential notation.