The Corner’s stage is an appropriate grimy setting for Canadian rockers Black Mountain, who haven’t graced Melbourne with their presence for seven years.
In support, Miles Brown, weaved some dark disco sorcery. Draped in a long black gown, bald head shimmering in the spotlight, pointy elfish ears pricked upright, he wailed away on the theremin like a conductor possessed while mixing his analogue synth.The crowd was beguiled, transported to an alternate reality – inside the computer.
The main feature, Black Mountain, were never not going to open with Mothers of the Sun, the first track off their aptly titled 2016 release IV, a record six years between drinks from their previous Wilderness Heart. It’s a slow building corker. The pulsating sonar of the synth and celestial vocals from Amber Webber take the soundscape somewhere into space, only to be brought crashing down to earth by the thunderous guitars of Stephen McBean. It was loud, it was powerful.
These two clashes of worlds give Black Mountain their distinct sound – the duel between the wide spanning spatial rhythms of the synth and the vocals, colliding with solid stoner grooves. With IV in particular, it feels like they’ve moved into more of a space rock territory. Their show clearly demonstrating this progression. Their set ploughed on and they played a collection from their four record catalogue with Wucan, Tyrants, and Rollercoaster standouts. The best track off IV, Cemetery Breeding, felt a little off, but lyrics like “Fucking in the graveyard” made up for it.
They concluded their regular programming with Space to Bakersfield, IV’s final track, a tightly constructed prog rockout. This is Black Mountain in their element. Their encore is a 20-minute free jazz psych fusion jam session, with Miles Brown returning to the stage on the theremin. It was a little self indulgent, but maybe that’s just because it was 11.30pm on a school night, and ugly sleep was needed.
BY LEE SPENCER-MICHAELSEN
LOVED: Space to Bakersfield.
HATED: CUB.
DRANK: Phlegm.
