Pink Mountaintops, Outside Love - Music Review

Posted on 08. Sep, 2009 by Administrator in Music

This album is psych-folk at its finest; haunting male/female vocals layered over a densely packed wall of guitars, strings, and other ethereal bits of instrumentation. The majority of the songs are also serious exercises in lethargy, plodding along warmly like the longest days of summer, allowing only those with patience to be fully rewarded. The album requires repeated listens to absorb the subtle melodies and contemplative lyrics, but once you’ve had enough exposure to the material, you’re hooked. Stand out tracks include the grandiose “Axis: Thrones of Love”, the Neil Young-inspired “Vampire,” and the poignant “Holiday,” where Stephen McBean sings, affectingly, “Everyone I love deserves a holiday.” If anything, Outside Love reveals McBean (who also fronts Black Mountain) to be a writer capable of crafting pensive soundscapes and melodies beyond the bombast of his ultra-heavy main project. While writing several acclaimed albums of riff-heavy stoner rock is an impressive feat, penning an album of comparatively quiet folk and Americana—where the melody (and not the riff) makes or breaks the songs—is the true sign of an accomplished musician. -Bill Dvorak

Good For: Campfire sing-alongs for guys with beards, soundtrack music for nostalgic scenes in nostalgic films