The Black Angels, standard bearers of contemporary psychedelic rock, will perform in Italy on September 17th at the Circolo Magnolia in Milan. Tickets for the concert are only available on the DICE platform.
Born in Austin (Texas) in 2004, the American band was destined from its inception to collect the psych scepter of King Roky Erickson, not only thanks to its own music but also thanks to its role as host of the local psychedelic scene. The Texan lineup is made up of Alex Maas (vocalist/bassist), Christian Bland (guitarist), Stephanie Bailey (drummer), Jake Garcia (guitarist) and Ramiro Verdooren (multi-instrumentalist).
For Roky Erickson and his 13th Floor Elevators one album was enough, the masterpiece “The Psychedelic Sounds Of 13th Floor Elevators”, and little more to indelibly and forever associate the name of their city, Austin (Texas), with psychedelic rock. From the 13th Floor Elevators to the present day, Austin and its desert surroundings have been fertile ground for dozens, or even hundreds, of psychedelic bands that move in the wake of the torrid and hypnotic guitar music of its initiators. Among the many bands on the scene it is worth mentioning: Shiva's Headband, Cold Sun, The Golden Dawn, Cotton Mother, The Ugly Beats. All the bands mentioned, and the vast majority of the others, however, remained the prerogative of psychedelic music fanatics or of a mostly local and sectoral audience. Many, many years would pass before the spotlight would shine on Austin and his psychedelic scene again, and it would be thanks to 5 terminal fans of Erickson and his psychedelic stunts, namely The Black Angels.
In the space of fifteen years and 5 albums, the band has become a global institution of psychedelic rock. However, the Black Angels did not limit themselves to updating Austin's sound to the modern age, thus enriching it with the possibilities offered by decades of neo-psychedelic experiences and thanks to the anthological knowledge they have of all American psychedelia, but, as the years went by and the consolidation of their fame, they have transformed into true hosts and noble legatees of local psych-rock.
In the latest album “Wilderness Of Mirrors” (September 2022), the sixth made in the recording studio, the Austin quintet finds itself tackling new themes, sometimes even with an unprecedented positive approach (the rebellious “Without A Trace” and a “El Jardin” which invites us to leave a better world to our children), and an ideal subdivision into three parts, the first aggressive and devoted to psychedelic garage, a more folk central and a more airy psychedelic final.
Antonio Santini for SANREMO.FM
