Blaak Heat
Shifting Mirrors
Svart Records / Tee Pee Records
2016
I was a bit aloof and my eyes were getting heavy when I started this review, so I had to look twice at the intentional misspelling of “Black” in the band’s name… and I was like – really?! Consisting of guitarist & occasional singer Thomas Bellier (ex-Spindrift), who relocated to Los Angeles in 2012 with Mike Amster (drums) and Henry Evans (ex-Spindrift, bass), the band was previously known as Blaak Heat Shujaa.
Now since I’ve started getting more into psychedelia, I’ve started opening up to the possibilities of mixing up a variety of styles with different sounds and this Parisian-American psych/stoner/eastern rock trio succeeds in actually doing a very nice “western” rock interpretation of middle Easter music… even covering a traditional Afghan/Persian folk track “Mola Mamad Djan” among other things. Somewhat psych/desert rock, heavily influenced by Arabian scales a little jazzy here and there… this electric camel ride will almost certainly sound endearing to most perceptive ears it might fall upon.
The album manages to sound heavy, drifting, hypnotic and alluring without having to try too much to be likable. The songs are not too meandering but that’s not what makes them immediate, but their nice hooks and their impeccable groove. Other than the aforementioned “Mola Mamad Djan”, the opener “Anatolia”, the heavy “Black Hawk” and the dazing “Danse Nomade” are some of the peaks on this hot sounding arabesque mini masterpiece.
Now since I’ve started getting more into psychedelia, I’ve started opening up to the possibilities of mixing up a variety of styles with different sounds and this Parisian-American psych/stoner/eastern rock trio succeeds in actually doing a very nice “western” rock interpretation of middle Easter music… even covering a traditional Afghan/Persian folk track “Mola Mamad Djan” among other things. Somewhat psych/desert rock, heavily influenced by Arabian scales a little jazzy here and there… this electric camel ride will almost certainly sound endearing to most perceptive ears it might fall upon.
The album manages to sound heavy, drifting, hypnotic and alluring without having to try too much to be likable. The songs are not too meandering but that’s not what makes them immediate, but their nice hooks and their impeccable groove. Other than the aforementioned “Mola Mamad Djan”, the opener “Anatolia”, the heavy “Black Hawk” and the dazing “Danse Nomade” are some of the peaks on this hot sounding arabesque mini masterpiece.