New psych. Let’s call it a movement. With contemporaries such as The Warlocks (the new ones, not the Dead ones), Psychic Ills, VietNam and The Gris Gris (who don’t necessarily call themselves psych, but I mean, c’mon), The Black Angels are spearheading this movement with all of the energy and conviction of an anti-WTO demonstration. New psych may be only 2 or 3 years old, but The Black Angels have matured it immeasurably with their full length of self-decribed “Native American Drone’n'Roll”, Passover, appropriately released April 11th.

The band name is a reference to The Velvet Underground & Nico, and they aren’t afraid to wear other influences on their sleeve, homaging Syd Barrett with the song title “Sniper at the Gates of Heaven” and the social turmoil of the 60s and it’s backlashes with the song title “The First Vietnamese War” in which singer Alex Maas tells a tale, quite convincingly, from the perspective of a soldier of the time. Backing Alex on his journeys are Stephanie Bailey - drums & percussion, Christian Bland - guitar, Kyle Hunt - keyboards, percussion, bass, guitar, Jennifer Raines - the drone machine/organ, Nate Ryan - bass, guitar, and Richard Whymark on projections. Together they conjure a sound that’s fuzzy and intricate and a glimpse to the past with dreams of the future. Dreams of turning on a whole new and similar generation and encouraging them to “drone out.”

Check their Myspace for a handful of tour dates.

Extra goodie because it’s so good: The Black Angels - Empire

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