Black Mountain

Wilderness Heart (Jagjaguwar)

By Erin Wolf
Published: September 22nd, 2010 | 1:00pm

Channeling their inner and always present hair rocker hippies, Black Mountain gets as psyched and Led Zeppelin-ed out as ever for their third release, Wilderness Heart. Somehow, the Canadian quintet’s heavy riffing and epic intensity play even more into the mellow and dreamy spaces of their repertoire, making for an ultimately absorbing ride. Kicking off with the hippie-esque road trip vibe of “The Hair Song,” guitar riffs intertwine with playful drumming while Stephen McBean and Amber Webber bust out some solid dueting. McBean’s gruff tenor buzzes with Webber’s psych princess wail, creating enough energy for the music to ride along on for its remainder.

“Old Fangs” digs in with a huge guitar slide and snaky organ intro, eventually falling into the arms of chugging guitars. It’s an entrancing and bewitching track, interlacing heavy rock crashing with slick synths and broiling organ. By the third track, “Radiant Hearts”, McBean turns it down a notch but keeps the intensity on level, playing out an eerie folk vibe, his urgent vocals taking control as Webber plaintively backs him up: “Alone in your castle on the fifty-fourth floor / Can’t you hear me calling your name? / Yet the heart is truth to believe / That all that is worth and all that is game / Could never replace the most beautiful things / That brought you so close to my heart.”

Wilderness Heart strikes a solid balance of riffage and reflection, managing to hone in on Black Mountain’s signature intensity throughout the record and making it the band’s finest work to date. The comfortableness in this balance is most evident in pairing up this yin and yang style with the punk-edged “Let Spirits Ride” and the blues-folk wistfulness of “Buried By the Blues.” Epic rock may get a rap as being convoluted, but in the hands of Black Mountain, it holds a ringing sincerity and depth, even with its grandiose makeup.

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