black sand – ‘Above the Clouds’ (2022)
Always an exciting event here in the southwest when Black Sand (Anthony Evans) filters a new set of wayward songs across the ether, songs filled with enchantment, numbers structured to comfortably lay back my wasted head with a warm set of hands, tucking an emancipated blanket of sound around me, then stepping away as I drift off into the soft welcoming hypnotic drone; as Black Sand has been sweetening my soul with for quite some time now.
‘Above the Clouds’ is no exception, a soulful blues-based romp through Anthony’s own take on effortless psychedelic lullabies, a series of flowering fractured fairy tales that slowly ebb and wash over me with luscious fuzzed out desire, morphed with enticing lyrics that swirl and simmer with passion and delight. You’ll quickly discover that music from Black Sand has a nearly physical presence, a weighted smoke-like current raptured with danceable couch-bound intoxicated blissful wanderlust. I for one find it absolutely impossible not to be caught up in this light-handed guitar textured sway and hushed delicious vocals, too often finding myself wishing to tether what’s left of my being to something of substance in order not to be swept into the the sonic fray, fearing, or perhaps darkly hoping to drift out of an open curtain laced window, floating high above the clouds and into the atmosphere that holds together all that I know and understand, with the words “I wish I could feel like this forever”, quietly resonating from my lips.
I’ve avoided going here for years, yet ‘Above the Clouds’ forces my hand, where I’ll suggest that anyone calling themselves a fan of that first Spacemen 3 album is hands down entirely misguided if they haven’t ventured into the nether world of Black Sand, as Black Sand string out these unencumbered intoxicating bits of spellbound raptured guitar meanderings more eloquently, more desirably, more passionately and more consistently than Spacemen ever dreamed of doing … otherwise they would have.
Without a doubt, I’m one of those whom easily dismisses album intros, feeling intros to be an afterthought and often far too clever for their own good, yet here the two minute Beatlesque intro is entirely necessary and important for defining the door you’ll be stepping through and the space you’re about to enter. Above the Clouds is an album to get lost in, and an album to give yourself over to, an adventure that under the right circumstances will define this moment in time.
Deepest thanks Anthony, another soundtrack for a brilliant nocturnal road trip, from terrestrial to celestial, even if that journey’s taken only in my mind.
*** The album will be available as a very limited cassette recorded in real time, along with a CD and digital download from Bandcamp.
Jenell Kesler
black sand – ‘Above the Clouds’ (2022)
