The
Black Mountain Army is an interesting but seemingly complicated collective of musicians and artists or otherwise friends in Vancouver, BC. Members reportedly hold down day jobs at a local mental health clinic, which is ironic because their own various musical projects exist somewhat like multiple personalities. Outlets such as
Black Mountain and
The Pink Mountaintops have generated considerable buzz, and have relied heavily on the talent and influence (and personalities?) of Stephen McBean, a longtime veteran of the BC music scene.
The upcoming debut from
Lightning Dust is a notable contribution because, for one, it does not involve Stephen McBean. Additionally, or consequently, the music played by
Lightning Dust contrasts greatly with that of previous
Black Mountain Army offerings. Their debut further establishes the Army as a ranging music collective worthy of your attention, even if the trek from BC to DFWd is a long one and we tend to miss out on these bands’ live performances.
The
Lightning Dust project involves mostly Amber Webber and Joshua Wells. Both are veterans of the Army, and attempting to trace the evolution of their involvement in
Black Mountain Army projects is an exercise in taxonomy:
Joshua’s collaborations with McBean pre-date
Black Mountain (the band)
In the the late nineties the two played together in the esteemed
Ex Dead Teenager, who were one of the first bands to record at the venerable
Hive Creative Labs, an influential low-budget studio that has nurtured the BC music scene over the past decade (e.g.,
Destroyer has recorded there). Wells and McBean were later joined by Amber Webber in
Jerk With a Bomb.
Jerk With a Bomb begot
Black Mountain, with Wells and Webber contributing alongside McBean and others.
Black Mountain is often depicted as a drug-influenced throwback to sixties/seventies
VU,
Pink Floyd,
Black Sabbath, etc.
The Pink Mountaintops are an offshoot of
Black Mountain in which Wells, Webber, and others perform ideas that are more strictly McBean’s. With McBean at the helm,
The Pink Mountaintops were invited to SXSW 2006. Whereas
Black Mountain is associated with marijuana and LSD,
The Pink Mountaintops project, managing to humor spirituality while remaining fixated on all things sexual, seems more representative of a McBean MDMA binge.
And so if the music of
Black Mountain and
The Pink Mountaintops references hippie hedonism, that of
Lightning Dust is more aligned with the disconsolation a hippie might have felt after Nixon trounced McGovern in '72. Since the album expresses resignation or indolence, if not outright depression, it seems unlikely to approximate the buzz of its
Black Mountain Army predecessors.
The lethargic pace of the album is underscored by its instrumentation, which is primarily sparse: Drums are heard on only about a third of the tracks. The generally warm sounds of cellos, organs, pianos, and acoustic guitar are the building blocks for most songs, and they allow Amber Webber and her vocals to be at the center of attention. She keeps things interesting with an affecting voice. At it’s best, she sounds like a groggy
Chan Marshall, or a glum, even shivering cold
Victoria Bergsman (defected
Concretes frontwoman). Unfortunately, the lyrical content doesn't always match the emotional force in which it's delivered.
Webber usually sounds as if she’s communicating something that has her on the verge of tears, but an exception to this and the overall tempo of the album is the third track,
Wind Me Up. Not coincidentally, I think that track captures the prize for most likely to be skipped on subsequent listenings. More representative of the album as a whole are
Heaven,
When You Go, and
Castles and Caves. Also strong is the album’s final song,
Days Go By, which features a double-dub of Webber accompanying herself beautifully, with simple piano, guitar, and drum parts that trudge along seeming reluctant to keep pace.
Overall, there's enough substance for this debut to be considered more than just another
Black Mountain Army vanity project. Those fond of
Mark Kozelek's output, or maybe a band like
Ida, might be inclined to check it out. If it doesn't sound like your thing, well then sit tight because the recent prolific history of the
Black Mountain Army suggests that you probably won't have to wait too long to try out something else entirely different.
Lightning Dust's Lightning Dust will be released by
Jagjaguwar on June 19th.
