REVIEWSThe Black Angels, ‘Directions to See a Ghost’

5

• SPIN Rating:5 of 10

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Label: LIght in the Attic

Named after the most abrasive track on the first Velvet Underground album, this druggy sextet from Austin, Texas, reach for spine-prickling, horror-inducing sonic deliverance. Like their 2006 debut, Passover, Ghost drowns in Spacemen 3–like drone, feedback, and reverb until the tunes congeal into a deliberately muddy, impenetrable trance. Whether going tribal ("Vikings") or settling on two chords ("Never/Ever"), the fuzzed-out guitars and pulsing organs create a retro-psychedelic sound that morphs slowly, like a lava lamp remolding forms, while the vocals eerily call in from a distant room.

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