The Black Angels: Directions To See A Ghost

Ever since psychedelic rock began, its combination

of effects-laden guitars, heavy drums, and echoed vocals, once the most

forward-thinking of mixtures, has seemed more and more tethered to a specific

time in the past, even as plenty of good bands have mined it and even extended

it stylistically. Austin quintet The Black Angels are canny bricoleurs of that

continuum, and on Directions To See A Ghost, they either stretch out

or stick to basics. They're good at it, too, even as they bring to mind specific

antecedents and peers: The eight-and-a-half-minute "Never/Ever" resembles a

cross between early Sonic Youth (rumbling tom-toms, doomy vibe) and latter-day

Clinic (needling vocals, needling organ), and SY crops up again on "The

Return," in which Alex Maas' vocals recall Lee Ranaldo's. It's kind of samey,

sure—but in a formalist genre, that isn't necessarily a bad thing.