Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on November 2010

Canadian five-piece Black Mountain play bluesy rock that veers from a hard and heavy (but always warmly fuzzy) sound to something more sun-dappled and folkish. Their third album Wilderness Heart alternates growling, riff-driven numbers, like “Old Fangs,” “Rollercoaster,” and the album title track, with softer songs such as the acoustic arpeggio of “Radiant Hearts” and the gentle, bruised folk of “Buried by The Blues.” At first it all sounds a bit retro – reviewers inevitably throw up comparisons to Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple while genuflecting in the general direction of the hippy movement – but BM are not mere 70s revivalists. While their songs are deeply rooted in the past, they have a vivid life all their own, something that is brought out by the skilfully interwoven and contrasting vocals of main man Stephen McBean and female cohort Amber Webber.