BLACK CAB – CALL SIGNS

Black Cab occupy a space in Australian psychedelic rock that few manage to carry off with such grace and intrigue. These guys have a lot of talent and a mature approach to their noisy guitarscapes and electronics, and this latest album from the brainchild of Andrew Coates and James Lee takes the listener on a dark and strangely placid journey. Known for their diverse arrangements and ear-splitting live volumes, Call Signs instead opts for a more filmic approach to the songwriting and production, and a distinctive ghostly presence of the 1960s and 70s fallen icons – Church in Berlin plays like a stained memory of Haight & Ashbury romanticism, and a hint of Judee Sill’s Crayon Angels creeps into the excellent Black Angel. Sometimes we’re taken to a place of true psychedelia, like in the drug-fueled pumping house rhythms and guitar noise of Sonnenallee. One could imagine if the Brian Jonestown Massacre diversified their sound palette a little, it could sound something like this. Refreshing for its forays into slightly taboo areas of instrumentation, weed-ling samplers and hook synths weaving their way in and out of the guitar rockers, this is a pretty unique blend and worth sitting down for repeat listens, to truly take in the scope of what they’re trying to achieve.

***1/2