Following the release of the superlative debut album, Passover, Texan rockers The Black Angels have lined up the woozy and wonderful Better Off Alone as their next single. It follows the band’s whistle-stop command-and-conquer tour of the UK with The Black Keys in February (’07). Playing a lone solo show in London, they packed the house at shoegazer mecca Sonic Cathedral and dazzled all with their quasi-ceremonial performance. Maybe it was hypnotism - the Black Angels’s music is built on long, mind-bending drones inspired by both the band that gave them their name (The Velvet Underground) and the sights and sounds of the Texan desert. They call it Native American drone ‘n’ roll.
“On stage, the music takes over,” says vocalist Christian Bland. “It's almost a ceremony when we play. The music flows through, and everything else around us disappears.”

With its bluesy riffs and pounding jungle drums, Better Off Alone finds the Angels bemoaning woman troubles and whisky (or the lack thereof). Think of Austin’s other great psychedelic band, The 13th Floor Elevators jamming with Jim Morrison, and you might get an idea of how it sounds.

The Black Angels were built in the Bible belt but occupy an otherworldly space – they have the kind of revolutionary spirit that you just can’t bottle. It comes from their unusual pasts (bassist Nate Ryan was born on a cult compound, ‘drone machine’ player Jennifer Raines grew up in a mortuary in a town called Gun Barrel City and vocalist/guitarist Christian is the son of a Texas preacher), from long nights on peyote and whisky and from the chemistry generated by a band that have found the perfect line-up of like-minded souls. As such, their anti-war messages and apocalyptic visions come with the full weight of the band.
“All six members have the same vision, and if you have six people with the same goal then things will naturally progress steadily,” says Bland. “Our philosophy from the very beginning was that if we aren’t moving forward we're moving backwards. We want our music and message to be heard by as many ears as possible.”

Fittingly, for a band whose music inspires and frightens in equal measures, The Black Angels live and rehearse in what they claim is a haunted house. “The people who lived here before us actually died in the house,” says drummer Stephanie Bailey. “You hear random instruments go off in the middle of the night - the tambourine, you'll hear it go tss-tss-tss.”

So put on the single and – in the words of the band – turn on, tune in and drone out.