BLACKLOUD
Mysterious Waves (Independent)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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James Blackloud just may be brilliant. That's a dangerous label to slap on someone, and a lot to live up to, but it's difficult to keep oneself from waxing ecstatic about the man's talents and the sheer depth of his ideas after listening to Mysterious Waves.

Recording by himself, Blackloud creates a hybrid of psychedelia and punk that digs deep into your conscious and subconscious. No escaping it. Huge sounds, layers deep, of oscillating energy, grinding low end, atmospheric sounds that seem to come from alien worlds, echoing hi-hats and kick drums, and unusual trains of lyrical thought zipping this way and that. Sometimes the songs are funny, sometimes they're like dreams you can't quite work out, but they always get your full attention.

The most amazing thing about all of this is the way Blackloud works. All of the instruments that sound like guitars are basses. What sounds like keyboards is a harmonica (only used on one song). The alien attack atmospherics are done with voice and signal processing. The key ingredient is bass, for James Blackloud is, indeed, a bassist first and foremost, having spent 13 years filling that role for the Saratoga, New York stoner rock band, Small Axe. He uses a hollow body bass to get a tenor guitar sound in the mix. Pretty clever.

Now working out of Covina, California, Blackloud is a self-promoted artist who doesn't fit easily into any one category, but his talent is hard to ignore, so he's probably destined for "underground legend" status, at very least.

© 2005 - DJ Johnson