Pink Mountaintops

Get Back

Written by: BV on 23/05/2014 21:20:04

Devotedly following a specific band can be a ridiculously tedious obsession. Yes, when that record you’ve been waiting for, for several months, years or whatever finally comes out you feel a massive sense of euphoria and the thoughts ”this is it!” echo through your head. - But when all that is effectively over, you’ll soon find yourself craving more – with yet another long wait to follow. Such was the case when I first got into Black Mountain, one of Stephen McBean’s musical projects. I got blown away by their debut, got wrapped up in their epic “In the Future” sometime later and finally endured the waiting until their album “Wilderness Heart” hit the streets. Since then, though, I’ve found a need to backtrack through various other exploits related to McBean. One such exploit is Pink Mountaintops and their slightly more experimental approach to songwriting when compared to Black Mountain. It’s still Mcbean’s songwriting craft, guitar-sounds and vocals so it seems right up my alley. With the release of their new album “Get Back” I thus hoped to find an album that could treat my musical withdrawals stemming from an otherwise disturbing lack of released material from McBean in recent years.

Opening then with “Ambulance City”, my immediate thoughts on the album is that the songwriting is strikingly concise when compared to that of previous albums “Axis of Evol”, “Outside Love” or the self-titled debut. It’s an alluring and rather catchy sound as well, which places an emphasis on a more rock n’ roll oriented approach in a slightly adventurous, yet ultimately concise, format. Proceeding then to the early highlight “Second Summer of Love”, Mcbean wails the lyrics; “1987, the second summer of love!” with the trademark anxiety and nerve of a vocalist in his early twenties despite being quite a bit older than that. It’s a youthful approach that is surprisingly fitting and a refreshing blow of air that stands in stark contrast to the often introverted, thoughtful and ominous sounds of Black Mountain.

However, when all is said and done, this youthful and concise approach is sadly also the potential downfall of the album. For me, at least, I doubt this album will maintain its relevance in the long run like many of the other albums released under this moniker as well as the Black Mountain moniker. It’s a more immediate approach that makes the album strikingly catchy, but I feel like it lacks the uniquely strong compositions that Stephen McBean and his various musical partners are usually known for. I’m quite sure “Get Back” will keep my symptoms of withdrawal at bay for the time being, but I would really love to hear a new Black Mountain album sometime soon. Or at least see a tour date announced in my vicinity.

7

Download: The Second Summer of Love, Sell Your Soul, Shakedown
For The Fans Of: Black Mountain, Sleepy Sun, The Dolly Rocker Movement, Darker My Love
Listen: facebook.com

Release date 29.04.2014
Jagjaguwar


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