Black Mesa Songs
General
| Mar 2011
Reviews
Mir
Reviewed 2012-01-24
Reviewed 2012-01-24
Lead singer has a deep, gritty, unique country voice. Awesome use of horns and accordion. The New Mexican Revolution is hard to classify, but it’s like folk-country-meets-New-Orleans-funeral-dirge. This is campfire/road-trip music, but with some really unique moments due to the instrumentation and diversity of influences. RIYL: Counting Crows, Black Keys, Neutral Milk Hotel. FCCs: 3. (“shit” at 0:33.) Recommended tracks: 4 (AWESOME instrumental), 5, 9 (for something somber), 13 (my favorite).
1. 1:34: soft country song about home with pretty melody and simple guitars. Nice guitar solo from 1:02 to the end of the song.
2. 3:48: Accordion intro ala Neutral Milk Hotel’s The Fool. Then becomes an uptempto jive. Rough, occasionally unpleasant singing, with a downtempo segment in the middle.
3. 3:27: FCC (“shit”) 0:33. First 7 seconds include in-studio random talking. Moody, cool, with a good narrative and some sing-talking.
4*. 1:03: Purely instrumental, and mostly just an accordion (with a little percussion thrown in). Again, sounds like The Fool.
5*. 3:39: Uptempo. The guitars drive this song, but singer’s voice really shines. Several nice instrumental accordion/horn interludes.
6. 4:06: 30-second instrumental intro sounds like Mexican music (of which I am far from an expert). Closing interlays female harmonies (dum bum bum bum dum) with deep male voice quite nicely.
7. 3:33: Really chill midtempo song with pretty guitar plucking. Singer’s voice is scratchy and (purposefully) weary on this track.
8. 1:38: Slow, sad accordion joined by hopeful guitars and, eventually, some drums. Purely instrumental.
9*. 2:45: Melancholy, clear guitar – with an unexpected electric guitar solo in the middle! Voice is deep, gravelly, cracking – think an elderly Johnny Cash. Excellent if you’re in the mood for something dark.
10. 3:16: Interesting tempo changes – builds and then abruptly slows down, then picks up again, and repeats that pattern. Female vocal harmonies join the main male voice in a few places.
11. 3:53: Downtempo. Singer’s deep voice is clean and gorgeous on this track. Some twangy country guitars get a chance to shine. Song has a long fade out and could be stopped at 3:47.
12. 2:23: I’m not really sure why he’s singing about geometric shapes and what will intersect with what…. Whistling and a harmonica(!) in this one.
13***. 4:04: Features tambourine + accordion. The chorus is emotionally evocative and also pretty catchy. Their best track.
14. 1:53: Purely instrumental, except for some soft unintelligible speaking. Not as good as the other instrumental tracks – veers toward the cacophonous.
15. 3:09: That cracking voice again – so sad! About how he misses his ex. Downtempo.
-Mir
1. 1:34: soft country song about home with pretty melody and simple guitars. Nice guitar solo from 1:02 to the end of the song.
2. 3:48: Accordion intro ala Neutral Milk Hotel’s The Fool. Then becomes an uptempto jive. Rough, occasionally unpleasant singing, with a downtempo segment in the middle.
3. 3:27: FCC (“shit”) 0:33. First 7 seconds include in-studio random talking. Moody, cool, with a good narrative and some sing-talking.
4*. 1:03: Purely instrumental, and mostly just an accordion (with a little percussion thrown in). Again, sounds like The Fool.
5*. 3:39: Uptempo. The guitars drive this song, but singer’s voice really shines. Several nice instrumental accordion/horn interludes.
6. 4:06: 30-second instrumental intro sounds like Mexican music (of which I am far from an expert). Closing interlays female harmonies (dum bum bum bum dum) with deep male voice quite nicely.
7. 3:33: Really chill midtempo song with pretty guitar plucking. Singer’s voice is scratchy and (purposefully) weary on this track.
8. 1:38: Slow, sad accordion joined by hopeful guitars and, eventually, some drums. Purely instrumental.
9*. 2:45: Melancholy, clear guitar – with an unexpected electric guitar solo in the middle! Voice is deep, gravelly, cracking – think an elderly Johnny Cash. Excellent if you’re in the mood for something dark.
10. 3:16: Interesting tempo changes – builds and then abruptly slows down, then picks up again, and repeats that pattern. Female vocal harmonies join the main male voice in a few places.
11. 3:53: Downtempo. Singer’s deep voice is clean and gorgeous on this track. Some twangy country guitars get a chance to shine. Song has a long fade out and could be stopped at 3:47.
12. 2:23: I’m not really sure why he’s singing about geometric shapes and what will intersect with what…. Whistling and a harmonica(!) in this one.
13***. 4:04: Features tambourine + accordion. The chorus is emotionally evocative and also pretty catchy. Their best track.
14. 1:53: Purely instrumental, except for some soft unintelligible speaking. Not as good as the other instrumental tracks – veers toward the cacophonous.
15. 3:09: That cracking voice again – so sad! About how he misses his ex. Downtempo.
-Mir
Recent airplay
Disaster Won't Come
Synthesis — Mar 11, 2012
Crooked Trees
Nathin' To Do — Mar 01, 2012
Oh, The Rain
Modern Donkey - Beats — Feb 29, 2012
The Ballad Of Jim Jeffries
Synthesis — Feb 26, 2012
Rainy Streets In Dirty Cities
No Voices Aloud — Feb 19, 2012
Two Days, Rainy Streets In Dirty Cities
Nathin' To Do — Feb 16, 2012
Charting
2012-02-12 — 2012-04-15
| Week Ending | Airplays |
|---|---|
| Mar 18 | 1 |
| Mar 4 | 3 |
| Feb 26 | 1 |
| Feb 19 | 1 |
Track listing
| 1. | Two Days | ||
| 2. | Low Hanging Fruit | ||
| 3. | Swingshift Stevedore | ||
| 4. | Rainy Streets In Dirty Cities | ||
| 5. | Small Matter Of Degrees | ||
| 6. | Los Santeros | ||
| 7. | Crooked Trees | ||
| 8. | Seven Letter Word For Disappointment | ||
| 9. | Disaster Won't Come | ||
| 10. | Oh, The Rain | ||
| 11. | Hunger For Thirst | ||
| 12. | Lines And Waves | ||
| 13. | The Ballad Of Jim Jeffries | ||
| 14. | Mesilla | ||
| 15. | Saddest Songs |