Black Mountain
In The Future
Jagjaguwar, 2008
By Allana Mayer
It’s a sad story, known all too well. Showing all the trademark elements of a sophomore slump, Black Mountain’s In The Future is an emotionless reprise of their self-titled debut. They’ve essentially retried the same recipe, with similar results — stoned and wailing vocals meet hammerhead guitars and long instrumental buildups. Somewhere in there, though, they forgot to give each song a telltale quirk that would’ve made them interesting. I’m not labelling the album as a complete failure, but it sure hasn’t proved itself as an instant hit.
I remember that Black Mountain’s self-titled took a while to grow on me, but stayed in heavy rotation after it did. In The Future may very well do the same, but it’s taking noticeably longer. A lot of the songs are lacking something. It’s not polish, as the grit of the less-than-clear tracks save them from overloading on cheap glam. Maybe it’s that the quality of the vocals seem overlooked this time, and while they could’ve just cut them entirely… Actually, no, that’s a really bad idea. They should’ve just done better, that’s all there is to it. Maybe it’s the lack of laid-back drums, messy horns, and a singer who sounds amused by his own role. Maybe it’s simply too much of that thundering power chord, those dramatic pauses, the big-rock-finish roll of the drums (evidenced by “Tyrants,” an irretrievable piece of junk). Maybe that model doesn’t mesh quite as seamlessly with the sensitive acoustic power ballads this time around. And maybe those power ballads would benefit from less Neil Young (as in “Stay Free”) and more originality. Mostly, I think they somehow lost the ability to laugh at themselves.
Still, “Stormy High” opens with all anger, no love, and a guitar riff that almost (but not quite) puts the offerings on their debut to shame. And the rhythm and bass parts of “Wucan” and “Evil Ways” are practically danceable, they’re so darn catchy. Still, would’ve done nicely with another few takes on those vocal tracks. I understand the whole spacey, spirally, Comets On Fire thing they’re going for here, but I’d prefer it if they didn’t.
I’d hate to think that my love of their self-titled was a fluke, a one-trick-pony admired for the novelty but never really taken seriously. I’d rather believe they’ve got a certain essence, that’s just being obscured by fluff and nonsense on In The Future. Better, I’d like to think they’ve got plenty of unexplored avenues in which to find greatness (for example, following up on the sexy Low-style beats of “No Hits” from their debut). Black Mountain’s got some work to do to recapture their appeal, but I hope they at least try.
