Rockness Recommends
Pink Mountaintops, The Black Angels and Catfish Haven make a thrilling triple treat.
May 11, 2006
Boy, this bill sure doesn't have a clunker in the bunch. These three bands have potential to blow you away on their own. Just imagine what they can do all in one night together.
Vancouver's Pink Mountaintops like to keep their identities under a veil of mystery. But we're here to rip down the iron curtain; Pink Mountaintops are essentially Black Mountain. Ok, it's Stephen McBean who sings in Black Mountain (which is part of the Black Mountain Army... i.e. a bunch of musicians who work in a mental hospital when they aren't on the road). Basically if you like Black Mountain, you'll like Pink Mountaintops, mostly because the two bands sound virtually the same.
You still get the disturbing psych Pink Floyd goodness that Black Mountain has, but with more songs about s-e-x. Not a bad trade off! Their debut album, Axis of Evol, was recorded by McBean in only three weeks, but he did have help from his friends. Yep, you guessed it, the other dudes in Black Mountain. So how are Pink Mountaintops any different? I have absolutely no idea.
The Black Angels' psychedelic rock 'n' roll is a natural fit alongside their current tour mates, Pink Mountaintops (see also: Black Mountain). The seven-member band from Austin (which includes someone who plays "the drone machine" and one guy who just does "projection"... trippy, man) also unabashedly invoke the spirit of The Velvet Underground (they named themselves after Nico) with their extended bass heavy hallucinations.
These guys very well could have been on the soundtrack to Easy Rider, and I'm willing to bet you'd really "dig" them if you smoked some "grass," "man," while listening to their tunes. This is straight up rock 'n' roll of the kind that our parents may remember jamming to.
Think My Morning Jacket meets Lucero. Chicago's Catfish Haven have been mighty busy the last couple years, touring with bands like Kings of Leon, The Hold Steady, Calla and Songs: Ohia to name but a few.
Taking their name from the trailer park in Missouri where singer George Hunter grew up, the trio plays upbeat, twangy songs (and at least one of them is about being hung over) powered by Hunter's plugged in and turned up acoustic guitar. They recently released an EP on Secretly Canadian full of croonings, longings and liquorings. I guess it's not cool to call people alt-rock anymore, but if you like alt-rock, you will like Catfish Haven.
Pink Mountaintops, The Black Angels, and Catfish Haven play Knitting Factory, Wednesday, June 7th. (Pink Mountaintops, Black Angels and Catfish Haven will also play Thursday, June 8th, at Southpaw.)
Vancouver's Pink Mountaintops like to keep their identities under a veil of mystery. But we're here to rip down the iron curtain; Pink Mountaintops are essentially Black Mountain. Ok, it's Stephen McBean who sings in Black Mountain (which is part of the Black Mountain Army... i.e. a bunch of musicians who work in a mental hospital when they aren't on the road). Basically if you like Black Mountain, you'll like Pink Mountaintops, mostly because the two bands sound virtually the same.
You still get the disturbing psych Pink Floyd goodness that Black Mountain has, but with more songs about s-e-x. Not a bad trade off! Their debut album, Axis of Evol, was recorded by McBean in only three weeks, but he did have help from his friends. Yep, you guessed it, the other dudes in Black Mountain. So how are Pink Mountaintops any different? I have absolutely no idea.
The Black Angels' psychedelic rock 'n' roll is a natural fit alongside their current tour mates, Pink Mountaintops (see also: Black Mountain). The seven-member band from Austin (which includes someone who plays "the drone machine" and one guy who just does "projection"... trippy, man) also unabashedly invoke the spirit of The Velvet Underground (they named themselves after Nico) with their extended bass heavy hallucinations.
These guys very well could have been on the soundtrack to Easy Rider, and I'm willing to bet you'd really "dig" them if you smoked some "grass," "man," while listening to their tunes. This is straight up rock 'n' roll of the kind that our parents may remember jamming to.
Think My Morning Jacket meets Lucero. Chicago's Catfish Haven have been mighty busy the last couple years, touring with bands like Kings of Leon, The Hold Steady, Calla and Songs: Ohia to name but a few.
Taking their name from the trailer park in Missouri where singer George Hunter grew up, the trio plays upbeat, twangy songs (and at least one of them is about being hung over) powered by Hunter's plugged in and turned up acoustic guitar. They recently released an EP on Secretly Canadian full of croonings, longings and liquorings. I guess it's not cool to call people alt-rock anymore, but if you like alt-rock, you will like Catfish Haven.
Pink Mountaintops, The Black Angels, and Catfish Haven play Knitting Factory, Wednesday, June 7th. (Pink Mountaintops, Black Angels and Catfish Haven will also play Thursday, June 8th, at Southpaw.)
