Tuesday, 14 Apr 2009
I can say with confidence that Pink Mountaintops Outside Love is one of the best releases I’ve heard this year. I’ve long been a fan of Stephen McBean’s Black Mountain outlet, blend equal parts Pink Floyd and black metal. His Pink Mountaintops moniker however is a little more subdued, more late-night zone out session, yet still owing a hat-tip in the Floyd direction.
“The ten songs on Outside Love are about or influenced by weddings in Montreal, winter, Pink Floyd’s The Final Cut, Christmas albums, that one Exile song and that one Echo and the Bunnymen song, the Bermuda Triangle, being depressed in the sunshine, people who haven’t made out yet but will in the future, The Everly Brothers, clowns in the ceilings, and bedrooms where skinheads used to live. They are songs of love and hate that read like a Danielle Steele romance novel but that would probably make for bad television.”
Outside Love arrives May 5th via Jagjaguwar. Catch Pink Mountaintops at the Empty Bottle in Chicago on Wednesday, June 10th.
Previously: Catfish Haven & Pink Mountaintops in Philadelphia
Pre-Order: Pink Mountaintops – Outside Love
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Myspace: Pink Mountaintops
MP3: Pink Mountaintops – “Vampire”
April 14th, 2009 at 11:53 am
i’ve been listening to it for a while and it’s amazing, one of my favorites as well
April 25th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
This is, by far one of the better accomplishments in music in a long time. Outside Love is a themed album beginning in desperation and earth-bound delights of the flesh. The female’s voice seems to represent true, spiritual love and can be heard flitting around through the first half of the album beginning by asking, “How deep is your love?” In the third song she tells us her story and reveals herself as the embodiment of true love and as a type of savior. The story progresses with McBean telling tales of trying to pursue love through the night and coming to an understanding that everyone needs to find their own redemption in order to begin to heal. Finally, in “Come Down”, McBean calls for this love to come to him and she does. Some sort of conversion occurs, I guess and in the next song, the title track “Outside Love” we hear the perspective of the songs change. Where the voice in the first half of the record reveled in the glory of it’s own pain and selfish love (though there is always the hope of something more), the second half of the record is filled with the voice of a redeemed lover. One that has found something wonderous from…well an outside love. And I Thank You is a gospel song, if you will. A love song to all the thieves, Liars and lovers in New York City. The love McBean sings of in this songs tells us that he finds light in the dark streets of the city. His long storm has ended and he is humbled and grateful. The next song, a great drone-rock love song is entitled, The Greatest of Sunbeams. And in closing he tells us how, united with his lover he is closer to heaven.
What a record! Its like Milton or Blake decided to get into indie rock! Thank you, Stephen McBean!!!