Black Mountain – “Florian Saucer Attack” (Singles Going Steady)

Pryor Stroud: A no-holds-barred psych-blues assault that interweaves space-age synths into its otherwise paleolithically savage goth-metal sound, the newest single from Black Mountain’s forthcoming album IV, “Florian Saucer Attack,” shows the band pressing their instruments, and thereby the song itself, toward some limit-point where eschatological destruction looms precipitously near. We start at the almost-cosmic height best articulated by Robert Plant in “Kashmir” — “Oh, baby, I’ve been flying / No, yeah, Mama, there ain’t no denying” — but, as soon as the track roars to life with a ferocious drum break, we’re plunging toward Earth again, inexorably, flames and and debris and trails of smoke marking the descent, and while it’s unclear what knocked us out of the sky in the first place, one thing is certain: there’s nowhere to go but down. [6/10]

Chris Ingalls: I’m not sure what to make of these guys. “Black Mother Sun”, the first single from their upcoming album, was a schizophrenic mixed bag of gothed-up angst and woozy Tony Iommi riffs, while this song is a bit more focused. It seems to be some odd concoction of the Pretenders with a Cars keyboard feel, wrapped up in a minor-key 1982 pancake makeup face. I’m not sure if that makes sense, and on paper, it sounds like another case of the previous single’s lack of direction, but here, the myriad influences seem to work, creating a cohesive feel. I may be coming around to this band after all. [7/10]

Chad Miller: The alien feel is pretty fun, and the vocals are pretty good. The guitar and drums create an excellent pulse for the song, making It feel like a race for survival. [6/10]

Black Mountain’s new album IV releases April 1st on Jagjaguwar.

SCORE: 6.33