The Black Angels - "Indigo Meadow"

*****

A day trip to Marlborough allowed me to have a good look around outstanding record shop "Sound Knowledge."  Of course, I had to buy something, so I plumped for "Indigo Meadow," the new album by The Black Angels. It's psychedelia. American, retro, 60s-ish. I adore it. I can hear all those great Summer Of Love sounds, plus the 13th Floor Elevators, the Doors, maybe even the B-52s!

The songs are quite poppy and surprisingly short.  There are 13 tracks here, yet the total playing time is around 46 minutes. Curiously, I could have sworn that the songs and album were longer. I'm taking this as a good sign; that the album is satisfying. 

Lead release "Don't Play With Guns" is here and still sounding damn fine. It could almost be a hit, such is the pop sensibility only partially hidden by the grungy psychedelic veneer. All the tunes are strong; there are no duds here at all. Of particular interest to me is the track "I Hear Colors (Chromaesthesia)" which covers a topic I have been interested in ever since I discovered the works of Russian classical composer Alexander Scriabin many years ago.

My copy is the standard CD. It comes as a three-panel digipack. It's rather more substantial than the House Of Love one, with the booklet fitting nicely into one of the sleeve panels. A vinyl version is also available, and if all else fails there is the download option.

The band are touring. Keep up at http://theblackangels.com/