Black (W)hole - Altered States (2018)

An off-kilter, bone dry western twang informs the loose experimentalism of black (w)hole’s heady journey of “altered states”. Perfectly named, the songs pass by as if in a delirious haze. Keeping things relatively loose the entirety of the album works best when taken in as a singular unified whole. Buildup has a post-rock quality to it for their usage of distortion and feedback gives it a particular edge. The way the music waits for things to unfurl and gradually collapse adds to the unique sense of the dramatic that comes to frame the entirety of the album. Layer upon layer comes into the mix, with guitars getting gnarled into the wild, weird and wonderful riffs that serve as the anchor of everything.

With “seasons” time becomes a disoriented, melted thing. Opening up the album with true style “seasons” goes for a wild wonderful approach. Ceremonial at times “in her veins” explores a naturalistic sort of rhythm. Haze rises up from the atmospheric “the hashish eater”. By far the highlight comes with the strangely alluring and outright cheery vibe of “swirl” which has a sense of hope underpinning the whole procession. Truly bringing the noise “lysergine” holds nothing back with an onslaught of noise. Delicate to its very core “inmost” lets patterns unfurl in a fantastic spirited sort of way. Drums pound on the hypnotic “mantra”. A dreamy disposition reigns supreme on “saturnism”. Consuming everything in its path “the heart of it all” feels just right. Moving in slow motion “landing” ends the album on a perfect note.

Throughout “altered states” black (w)hole proves to be masters at creating a beautiful sort of world, one that feels outright vital.



Track List:
01. Seasons 07:01
02. In Her Veins 04:22
03. The Hashish Eater 03:56
04. Swirl 04:20
05. Lysergine 04:50
06. Inmost 04:12
07. Pablo Moonrise 03:11
08. Mantra 05:27
09. Synapsed 05:05
10. Saturnism 03:29
11. The Heart Of It All 04:48
12. Landing 03:50

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