Blood Meridian Reviewed
Blood Meridian
Kick Up The Dust
(V2)
You can’t keep a good Black Mountain man down.
Black Mountain (not the Laurie Stirratt-helmed Blue Mountain) bassist Matt Camirand can’t sleep it seems, unless he has two bands going simultaneously. Having since departed trash punks The Black Halos, Blood Meridian focus less on virile guitar work than dusty, hungover country rock. Aptly titled, Kick Up The Dust strums along on the hood of a deceased Cutlass in the middle of the desert. “Most Days” is a bit frank about the benefits of suicide with an eerie, falsetto harmony. Camirand eloquently eulogizes the metaphorical death of a relationship on “Good Lover” though warmth does come through on “I Don’t Believe” via rays of organ light. “Let It Come Down” has the misfortune of invoking Counting Crows’ “I’ve Been Hanging Around” and Black Mountain drummer Joshua Wells has so little to do it’s a mystery he’s in the credits at all. Black Mountain fans seeking more drugged-out Blue Cheer/Velvet Underground bliss ought look elsewhere, though the “black” element remains at heart.
— Kevin Keegan
Click here to download a clip of “Most Days.”
