The Black Tones do a murder ballad

I noticed this new tune by The Black Tones a few weeks ago but never posted it so here we go.

A more acoustic number and a murder ballad to boot!

"Welcome Mr. Pink"

I finally found a show by The Black Tones. Here's "Welcome Mr. Pink" from a performance from 2021.

Eschatology From Seattle

When life slowed down for a spell with Covid lockdowns, I found myself with a lot of spare time and I used some of that to seek out new music. One band I discovered in 2020 was The Black Tones.

Hailing from Seattle, the band is siblings Eva (guitar/vocals) and Cedric (drums) Walker and a rotating cast of bass players when they're on stage. The influence of another Seattleite looms large over the band - Jimi Hendrix. Eva gives her wah-wah pedal plenty of love, bending her guitar's fuzzy tones in waves of sonic goodness.

But this is no Hendrix cover band. Cedric is more about getting into a groove than than the more manic playing of Mitch Mitchell. Plus they veer from the blues and into punk and even stuff like Krautrock on the odd occasion. It's like garage rock+.

In February they released a single on Seattle's venerable Sub Pop label. The A-side was this song, "The End of Everything". It begins with a spacey slab of feedback that is joined by a jangly riff that reminds me of "Superman" by The Clique. Eva's voice, sounding more confident and powerful than ever, bursts in: "My name is Jesus, I've come to fuck shit up!" The cleaner, jangly chords are joined by their fuzzier counterparts and this makes for a sweeping, full soundscape.

Considering the events of the past couple years, perhaps an eschatological gem like this is appropriate.