In the Spotlight: The Black Angels – Clear Lake Forest

by Mat Weir

Goddamn, it’s been a busy year for The Black Angels. Last year they released their fourth full-length, departed on two (or was it three?) tours, made their usual appearance at the Austin Psyche Fest & South by Southwest. If they didn’t have enough to deal with, this last Saturday they opened their own record store in Austin AND released their fourth EP, Clear Lake Forest.

Whenever the Angels release something on Record Store Day, I always buy it just on principle. But I have to admit, I wasn’t too excited for this year’s release. In my review of Indigo Meadow, I explained that even though I enjoyed the album, it wasn’t my favorite as it seemingly abandoned their fuzzier, psych roots for a more poppy, psych-lite sound. Even after seeing the Forest cover–which sees a return to the pattern designs that grace all their albums…