The Black Angels in Dallas
Sat Dec 29, 8:00 PM - Sat Dec 29, 10:00 PM

Stephanie Bailey: drums, percussion, PhilicordaChristian Bland: guitar, Mellotron, bass, vocals, Vox ContinentalJake Garcia: guitar, bass, vocalsKyle Hunt: bass, guitar, organ, Moog, Rheem MK VIIAlex Maas: lead vocals, bass, harmonium"If you're going to sing something, it might as well be something important," reflects The Black Angels' Alex Maas.That ethos is the pulsing heartbeat of 'Death Song,' the Austin neo-psych rockers' first new album in four years and their most fully realized work to date. Written well before the vitriolic election cycle and the uncertainty left in its wake, these songs now form an uncanny soundtrack to our modern American climate of division and anxiety, wrapping up the personal and the political into dense layers of provocative insight. Part protest, part emotional catharsis, this is a troubled record for troubled times, and in that sense, it's classic Black Angels."Our music has always been driven by the fear of the unknown and what's to come," explains Maas. "Growing up in Texas, in the Bible Belt, you'd have this feeling as a kid in church on Sundays that your whole entire world was just hanging by a string."On 'Death Song,' the band explores what happens when that string snaps. Volatile, fuzzed-out guitars and crashing percussion meet swirling, reverberating vocals in a cinematic tempest of distrust and disgust. Attraction and self-loathing, greed and desire, faith and brutality are all intertwined, as the lyrics explore the kind of timeless questions that have dogged mankind for eternity. How much ugliness are we willing to perpetuate in the quest for beauty? Can we ever truly share what's inside of our hearts? How long can we subject ourselves to the same self-destructive cycles before everything comes collapsing down around us?"We're just observers,' says guitarist Christian Bland. "We reflect back what we see in the world like a mirror, and hopefully that helps open up people's minds and eyes to the issues that are important to us."Produced by Phil Ek (Father John Misty, Fleet Foxes, The Shins), 'Death Song' is without a doubt The Black Angels' most political record since their 2006 debut LP, 'Passover.' Hailed as "the most powerful album of the year" in an NPR roundup by