By Henry Lipput
It’s been five years since California’s The Black Watch released
31 Years of Obscurity their amazing collection of what the band had been doing
for the previous three decades (I know I’ve said this before but you really
need to check it out). And in the last five years The Black Watch, rather than
resting on their laurels, have given us five more albums not to mention multiple singles
and EPs.
The latest from The Black Watch is weird rooms (ATOM Records)
where they are again led by singer, songwriter, and guitarist (and novelist) John
Andrew Fredrick. Leaving California for Austin, Texas, to record the new album,
Fredrick brought his gear and his guitarist son Chandler on a road trip to producer
Misa Bullock’s studio. (My imagined road trip is suggested by the brief bursts
of radio stations along the way that pepper the album.)
The sessions became something of a family affair with Sara
Minsavage-Bullock, the producer’s wife, providing backing vocals on a few
songs. (In the Bandcamp notes for weird rooms, Misa is described as “carrying
on more duties than most mortals can accomplish” as he was responsible for drums,
bass, percussion, guitar, keyboards, and string arrangements. Slacker.)
The Black Watch is known for its dream pop sound and there’s
plenty of that on weird rooms. And although it’s not always clear where
Fredrick’s influences come from, it’s more than a bit obvious in the album’s first
song “Myrmidon.” With its pacing, production, and hazy backing vocals it very much seems to be a nod in the direction of "Dear Prudence" (and at the end there are brief “Walrus”-like strings). The dream continues with “Miles and Miles” with
a spoken word foreign-language voice talking to you while you’re asleep and
thinking about a place and a time you’ve never been.
On “Gobbledegook” the band gives us an example of a different
kind of classic Black Watch pop gem. Sarah Minsavage-Bullock is heard for the
first time as she adds wonderful backing vocals to Fredrick’s lead. Another
Black Watch sound is Fredrick’s acoustic guitar and on the title song there’s a
terrific interplay of electric guitars (John Andrew and Chandler?).
The dream and the pop are combined on “Swallowed” which
highlights some high-quality drumming from Misa who also shines with his string
arrangement for the lovely ballad “You’ll Get Over It.”