If last night's show was anything to go by, it's safe to say Canadian psych-prog-rock juggernaut Black Mountain has well and truly made their mark on Australian audiences on this, their debut tour through Oz. The five-piece belted out an impressive set of smooth grooves, ethereal soundscapes and the kind of chunky guitar riffs that really require a long mane of hair to thrash around wildly for full effect.
Opening the night's proceedings were young upstarts The Wahas who, while somewhat adorable to watch in their youthful exuberance, seem a little confused as to exactly what they want to achieve with their sound. Alternating between jangly "that's so 2001" Strokes-esque pop and more sinister screamo songs, the band played to a room of about 15 people, leaving me worried Black Mountain's decision to play two (expensively priced) nights at the Annandale may have been a little overzealous. Thankfully though, by the time they took to the stage the 'dale was nearly full to capacity, and an eager crowd began dancing, flailing and head-banging from the first beat of their killer opening track, 'Stormy High'.
Black Mountain have the physical appearance of unassuming dags, which is a breath of fresh air in a world of perfectly groomed rock stars with amazing facial hair, jagged haircuts and slick threads. This band's effort is clearly and entirely directed into their music. Although some parts of their set were slightly too jazz-funk for my liking, Black Mountain are flawlessly tight, and manage the usually impossible task of playing at an extreme volume with perfectly balanced levels as if some mystical electrical current was flowing through them, linking each member as one overpowering force.
The vibrato driven vocals of Amber Webber echoed out beautifully over surging synthesisers and crashing drums, while during the encore she and frontman Stephen McBean transformed their dual vocals into a strange and unearthly drone instrument, something akin to a didgeridoo.
Definite highlights of the set included the creeping space track 'Wucan' and momentous ode to '70s heavy metal masters such as Sabbath and Zeppelin, 'Don't Run Our Hearts Around', which was executed with mammoth force.
Much of Black Mountain's songs follow a similar formula, with gentle verses that gradually build into crunching, strident choruses or extended endings showcasing awesome licks and riffs crying out to be put on the next edition of Guitar Hero (man, that would be fun), but each member of Black Mountain contributes something of his or her own to the band, producing an effect much larger than the sum of its parts.
Clearly excited and overwhelmed by the audience response, Black Mountain reached dizzying heights and took many to a stoner-rock zenith.
Aimee-Lee Curran
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