Black Mountain, Night Terrors@ The Annandale, Sydney(20/02/11)

Wed 23rd Feb, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Ever see a guy play a theremin before? There’s two antennas sticking out of the main unit; one controls the pitch and the other controls the volume. The distance to each antenna to the hands of the player determines the noise, and it takes immense skill to get it right. The player resembles a form of a classical conductor only muted, while the totally sci-fi sounds it makes are amazing. The Night Terrors, a cosmic post-rock outfit from Melbourne, wield one of these to great effect, where they let it wail like a digital banshee over juggernaut kicks and crash cymbals and snarling bass lines. Heroic synth dialogue forms the body of the melodies and together it’s a really unique and powerful sound. Their debut LP Back to Zero was released with little fanfare despite critical acclaim and they’ve been touring with some pretty heavy hitters recently (Hawkwind and later this year Dario Argento soundtrack faves Goblin, who they owe a fair bit to in terms of atmosphere).

A good deal of material from Back to Zero was covered opening up with a soaring rendition of The Dream Eater. In the small space of the venue the mix was fantastic, and each song snaked around a curious audience, coiling and relaxing and stretching out. Like the mighty Scottish pioneers Mogwai their tunes undulate between delicate rock ballads and huge fucking walls of noise and I could see a few people were surprised at the intensity they maintained. Epic sci-fi prog lives! It was an excellent start to the night.

Black Mountain are a refreshingly retro group that shrugs off current trends in favour of muscular pagan rock, summoning Sabbath and Motorhead to fuel their fire. They hail from Canada and are led by Stephen McBean and fellow vocalist Amber Webber.

The Annandale saw them play twice over the weekend, showing off their third full length Wilderness Heart. Their sound has progressed from straight up acid rock to bombastic prog and back to a focused retro noise. Their set consisted of several tracks from each album and showcased their talent for rendering gigantic slithering jams, from the sexually energized loop of Wucan, the expansive majesty of Tyrants, the (admittedly muted) hippy rock of Hair Song to the supercharged closing rendition of Let Spirits Ride.

Say what you want about their sound being directly lifted from various hallowed groups from decades ago, they wield it like a hammer. They were focused and energized despite the fuzzy textures and occasionally sludgy pace. It’s actually a very easy sound to get into as it curves and sways while attacking you with enormous power chords and blues riffs. Webber was a key element, balancing out the machismo and maintaining a calm femininity amidst the noise.

A lot of live acts tend to get caught up in the performance and unconsciously speed up the tempo, dulling the atmospherics captured on record. Not so for our Canadian friends, keeping an even keel and content to focus their emphasis on the texture and volume of their work. It felt fuller more realised, and not just because it was louder or faster. The night was a compelling and visceral experience and an impressive argument that “retro” isn’t a dirty word.