Christian Bland - guitar, drone machine/organ * Alex Maas - vocals
Stephanie Bailey - drums, percussion * Nate Ryan - bass, guitar
Kyle Hunt - keyboards, percussion, bass, guitar

Evolution.

While there are those who refuse to acknowledge it, the evidence is everywhere. For the Black Angels, it was clearly natural progression which led to its stunning sophomore outing, ...

Christian Bland - guitar, drone machine/organ * Alex Maas - vocals
Stephanie Bailey - drums, percussion * Nate Ryan - bass, guitar
Kyle Hunt - keyboards, percussion, bass, guitar

Evolution.

While there are those who refuse to acknowledge it, the evidence is everywhere. For the Black Angels, it was clearly natural progression which led to its stunning sophomore outing, "DIRECTIONS TO SEE A GHOST." The Austin-based outfit has unleashed an epic work of modern American rock 'n' roll, a collection which expands on the turbulent dynamics and post-millennial disquiet of their acclaimed debut, "PASSOVER." Tracks such as "You On The Run" and "Mission District" are fired by massive, slow-burning riffs and sheets of effects, driven to hypnotic heights by a primordial tribal rumble and mysterious, shamanic vocals. With "DIRECTIONS TO SEE A GHOST," the Black Angels have grown into something extraordinary - a pulse-pounding, mind-bending beast of a band, capable of both transcendent heaviosity and raw numinous power.

Formed in 2004, the Black Angels took up the dark mantle of neo-psychedelic drone rock and infused it with revolutionary realpolitik and the expansive Americana of their home state. The band's 2006 debut, "PASSOVER," drew international praise, while the hard-touring band's powerful and evocative live sets earned them an ever-growing fanbase.

The Black Angels got back to the business of creation mere months after the April release of "PASSOVER," working once again with engineer Erik Wofford (My Morning Jacket, Explosions In The Sky) at his Cacaphony Recorders. The converted warehouse, located on the banks of the Colorado River in East Austin, proved the ideal atmosphere for the band's work.

"What's interesting about the space is it just feels like Texas," singer Alex Maas enthuses. "The back side is all windows, so you have tons of natural light coming in and you never get tired. You?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re not in this stale fluorescent-buzzing recording studio environment. It's more of an outdoor feel, just a good Texas feel."

The Black Angels returned to the road for the remainder of 2006 and the first part of 2007, with highlights including a rapturously received UK tour alongside the Black Keys. The sessions resumed in the summer, then continued on through the beginning of the new year. The remarkable sonic progression evinced throughout "DIRECTIONS TO SEE A GHOST" was born of the Black Angels' commitment to live performance, the on-stage interaction serving to tighten the band's musical relationship, allowing the members to achieve a higher plane of creativity in the studio.

"It's a more evolved sound," Maas says. "It?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s more of a full-band experience. Touring gave us all an underlying sense of, wow, I trust these people. I trust them to make noise and to put whatever color they want onto the painting that we?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re all putting together."

Where much of "PASSOVER" was initially conceived by Maas and guitarist/co-founder Christian Bland, the new songs were formed within the band. As a result, the songcraft is more fully realized. At the same time, the Black Angels' trademark drone 'n' roll approach allows for ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú demands, in fact ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú intricate interplay and maximum spontaneity.

"The most improvisational part of Black Angels music is something we call the voice," Maas says. "It could be a guitar riff or it could be a vocal melody. It?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s constantly moving and you have to move with it, like you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re dancing with it."

Though there are occasional flashes of explosive color ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú as on the ecstatic brightness of "18 Years" or the gospel-flecked "Never/Ever" ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú "DIRECTIONS TO SEE A GHOST" is haunted by a pervasive, looming dread. While the anxiety remains largely unidentifiable, there are also incontrovertible reflections on life during wartime. With its closing refrain of 'In and out/We're gonna run through the desert/I've got big boots to fill,' the subject matter fueling "Vikings In Furs" could not be any clearer.

"People ask us, 'Are you a political band?' Well, yeah," Maas says. "We care about the direction of the world. Doesn't everybody? How can you ask us why we're a political band? Shouldn't everybody be?

"We try not to push anything down anybody's throats," he adds. "You have to let people think for themselves. Our job is to expose them to the truth and let them go towards it. You can't tell somebody to quit smoking unless they want to stop."

Fully aware that political action starts at home, the Black Angels puts its money where its mouth is via its involvement with HAAM, the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, a non-profit providing access to affordable health care for Austin's low income, uninsured musicians. The band's commitment to the city's multi-faceted music scene is also manifest in its recent presentation of the First Annual Austin Psych Fest at the Red Barn in North Austin. Inspired by Austin's renowned psychedelic concert hall, the Vulcan Gas Company, the bill was the initial installment in what the band hopes will be a series of shindigs bringing together the music and visuals of like-minded, lysergically inclined artists.

"We wanted to have a place where we could play whenever we wanted, bring in bands that we like, something away from the downtown area," Maas explains. "It's gonna be super-fun, we're gonna have film projections going, lots of lights. We've been given a really great opportunity by this guy who really just wants something to happen on that property and I guess he believes in us to make it happen."

As for the future, the Black Angels see nothing but wide-open space ahead. Though its roots may lie in full-on punk and leatherclad rock 'n' roll, the band also draw influence from such diverse sources as the pure drone minimalism of LaMonte Young's Dream Syndicate recordings with John Cale and the cowboy country of Johnny Western. "DIRECTIONS TO SEE A GHOST" displays the Black Angels' remarkable lack of restrictions and willingness to explore new terrain, wherever the voice may lead.

"I don't look at us as a psychedelic band as much as we're a band that?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s playing that kinda stuff right now," Maas says. "But we're always evolving. We love to change the sound of our music, change its dimensions. We're not afraid of doing anything."