By: Chris Ball
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Black Black Black is the new project from Jason Alexander Byers, previously of Disengage who released records on Man’s Ruin some years ago. Here he’s teamed up with Jacob Cox (guitar), Johnathan Swafford (bass) and Jeff Ottenbacher (drums) to record this rather grandly titled album – by which I mean it’s grandiose for a bunch of songs that are basically an examination and near celebration of various types of fucked-upness. The song titles give it away; ‘Lloyd Needs Meds’, ‘Let’s Bloodlet’, ‘Zoloft Manual’.
The aforementioned ‘Zoloft Manual’ kicks things off with a fat crunchy riff and immediately has the scuzzy Kyuss vibe which the bands biog tells you to expect. A gang vocal on the chorus give the song a fairly commercial edge, especially when it throws hand claps in at the end. It’s a pretty inviting, if unremarkable opener.
And so it goes on in similar underwhelming fashion with a series of short, mid-paced, stoner rock bangers, full of drug references and tales of madness. It’s nearly all one note and one gear: songs arrive noisily, are sick on your rug and then leave. A couple of tracks (the best ones) diverge from the norm – ‘Lloyd Needs Meds’ is a dreamy and woozy psyche dream with sinister undertones and ‘Let’s Bloodlet’ is a punk n’ roll roar a la Kverlertak. It briefly ignites the room and lifts the mild torpor this album induces.
Part of the problem, for me, is the mix by Andrew Schneider (Unsane, Mutoid Man) which has Byers vocals slightly set back in the mix. The record has a very drum heavy sound, which works out well for the John Bonham-aping caveman wallop of ‘Exorcist Everything’, but in general leaves you with the feeling that some passion is being held back. If Byers voice was lunging from the speakers, ripping your face off, this set of songs would get by on nutty charm alone, but as it is it’s rather Beige, Beige, Beige.
