The Black Angels - The First Vietnam War (Lights In The Attic)
UK release date: 4 September 2006
It's the end of the summer and no mistake. The mornings are getting darker, it seems like rain is going to fall constantly from the sky, and the new releases are starting to take on a much gloomier perspective.
The Black Angels specialise in spaced out grunge rock that takes a fair amount of influence from the Velvet Underground and The Jesus and Mary Chain. It's reassuringly primitive drone based rock that appears to be more than happy to bathe in puddles of dirty reverb.
Vocalist Alex Maas intones darkly about Charlie being everywhere as the band create a spacious yet claustrophobic void for him to exploit. Had this been a Babyshambles song, Charlie being everywhere would have been something to celebrate; but this is a bleak musing on the terrors of the Vietnam war and its effect on the youth of America.
Of course, many parallels can be drawn between that conflict and the current situation in Iraq. It's these similarities, coupled with the relentless drone conjured up by the band, that resonates with the listener. This is no chart buster by any means, but The Black Angels look to be a band that will make an impression soon.
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