CMU Playlists

Playlist: The Black Angels

By | Published on Tuesday 9 April 2013

The Black Angels

Texan psych quartet The Black Angels released their fourth album, ‘Indigo Meadow’, earlier this month. Currently touring the US in support of the record, and with their annual Austin Psych Fest event coming up at the end of this month, the band will work their way around Europe this summer, heading to the UK with a headline show at Electrowerkz in London on 25 Jun, followed by an appearance at the Hop Farm Festival on 5 Jul.

Of their output, frontman Alex Maas says: “Our music has always tried to shed light on issues that may be hard to deal with or confront. If people think they can ignore the issues they are wrong. Don’t play with guns, don’t touch a hot stove, don’t give your child a poisonous snake, don’t turn the cheek when artists are willing to discuss these issues”.

We asked the band to put together a playlist of artists who have influenced them. Maas, along with guitarist Christian Bland and bassist Kyle Hunt, selected some tracks for us.

THE BLACK ANGELS’ TEN
Subscribe to this playlist on Spotify, and then read on to find out more about The Black Angels’ choices.

01 Silver Apples – I Have Known Love
Alex: Way to create something that is 100 years before your time. Way to go. Yes I’m kinda jealous…

02 Huun Huur Tu – Taraan-Taraam
Alex: A taste of Mongolia and great groove. Beautiful melodies. I want them to be playing at my home for me, or on the Austin Psyche Fest seven-inch.

03 Ride Into The Sun – Hunt Like Wolves
Alex: Raw Australian psychedelia with political overtones, sexy, outback ‘drone and roll’.

04 Tricky – Christiansands
Alex: Dark, honest, brooding and amazing in depth; sonically its Tricky’s Mona Lisa.

05 Juan Trip – Acid Cat
Alex: Put this on when you get home with your partner. The rest is history. Use a condom…

06 Billy Nicholls – Feeling Easy
Christian: Lost album from 1968 ‘Would You Believe’ – good tune to listen to after a hard day’s work.

07 Holy Wave – Golden Truth
Christian: This is the latest release on The Reverberation Appreciation Society – new band from Austin, Texas with hints of Crystal Stilts and early Pink Floyd.

08 Clinic – See Saw
Christian: These guys have been a big influence on the Black Angels sound since the beginning.

09 Ty Segall – You’re The Doctor
Christian: This song’s a pure rock n roller, driving forward like a bat out of hell.

10 Deerhunter – Coronado
Kyle: I have been digging the Deerhunter album ‘Halcyon Digest’ lately. They are playing Psych Fest this year. My two favourite songs are ‘Revival’ and ‘Coronado’. I love the instrumentation – pianos, acoustics, sax, synth bass all working well together, sometimes sounding lo-fi and gritty as well as lush and vibrant, kind of reminiscent of ‘Pet Sounds’. Just good songs.



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