What influences did you draw from most for this record?
The majority of the album was influenced by our 24-25 years of living in the USA. Religion, fear, and paranoia are definite themes on Passover. We drew inspiration from the Creative Revolution in the 1960’s and from all those who dared to speak the Truth.
Is there an interesting or atypical process to how you go about writing songs?
It’s different every time. A lot of the time, I’ll come in with a new riff and we build around it. Alex writes most of the lyrics, but he and I collaborate just as often, Recently, we’ve been creating more songs as a group. You’ll be able to hear the bands evolution on the second album.
Your music conveys an impression of seven very serious individuals playing music. Is there a much lighter side to the Black Angels?
The music is our outlet, otherwise we’d all be in the nut house. I don’t think we write our songs when we’re feeling good. We write our music when we feel sick.
What sort of live setting is ideal for you to convey your music to an audience?
We like red, shadowy places. Our shows are about creating an entire multimedia experience. It’s not just about the music, it’s about setting the right vibe for the music too.
What’s next for the band?
We’ve started to record our second album. We have seven songs done, and seven more ready to go. We hope to have it done by the end of this year. It will probably be out around next summer. We’re also looking forward to heading over to Europe and Australia early next year.
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After spending Thanksgiving gorging yourself on turkey, mashed potatoes, and all manner of high-calorie treats from candied yams to kaleidoscopic Jello molds, you should have energy to burn.
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Dear Leader are hard at work on their second album; tentatively titled The Siamese Democracy , it’s due out in April on Lunch Records.
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It’s not exactly a stroll down Memory Lane, but pretty close to it.
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