This week in Texas music history: Black Angels revive Austin’s psychedelic origins

From KUTX:

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In May 2004, the psychedelic rock band the Black Angels formed in Austin. On the first of that month, friends Christian Bland and Alex Maas were hanging out at the beloved dive bar Trophy’s on South Congress in Austin when they heard that the scheduled band had cancelled. Sensing serendipity, they ran home, grabbed their gear, and took the stage as a duo.

They played “I’m Waiting for the Man,” “Black Angel Theme,” and “There She Goes,” seeds that would grow into the Velvet Underground-meets-winter acid sound of the soon-to-be Black Angels. Maas and Bland knew they had something, and recruited drummer Stephanie Bailey, keyboardist Jennifer Raines, and bassist Nathan Ryan to round out the band’s early, and evolving, lineup.

More than a band, the Black Angels launched a revival, consciously building on psychedelic rock’s Austin origins.

The Black Angels’ 2006 debut album “Passover” was a clarion call, and by March 2008, the group spearheaded Austin Psych Fest with Rob Fitzpatrick, James Oswald and like-minded artists. The experience grew into the ongoing Levitation festival and record label championing psych and garage rock.

Their activities went international with the Levitation France festival in 2013. They platformed a rich array of new artists and sustained audiences while also honoring the revolutionary sounds of the ’60s era by programming veterans and originators.

Levitation reunited Billy Gibbons’ pre-ZZ Top band the Moving Sidewalks and in 2015 arranged a rare and stirring performance of the surviving members of the 13th Floor Elevators. Throughout, the Black Angels reflected the turbulent ’60s back on itself, but also, always, with deep contemporary resonance, exploring the outer edges of utopian possibility tinged by apocalyptic alarm.

“The Velvet Underground song ‘I’ll Be Your Mirror’ – that’s what every Black Angels album has been about,” Alex Maas has said, “You can’t work out your struggles unless you bring them to the forefront and think about them. If we can all think about them, maybe we can help save ourselves.”

Sources:

Alejandra Ramírez, “The Black Angels Confront a Violent World,” Austin Chronicle. April 28, 2017. https://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2017-04-28/the-black-angels-confront-a-violent-world/

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