Words + Spells

Black Heart Procession - Not Just Words [mp3]

When I learned to Soulseek, I experienced a period of overwhelming accumulation, during which even my slightest musical interests, nay, curiosities, warranted entire back-catalog downloads. Forgive me, I was fifteen. As a result, my hard-drive filled with albums I would occasionally listen to, which made me an extremely passive fan of a number of bands. The Black Heart Procession would be the archetype, an ever-present and somewhat unremarkable group, this being the extent of my knowledge about them: they numbered their albums, except for Amore Del Tropico, and one of them contains "The War Is Over," the one song I can recall. They were, on the whole, too dirge-y, too protracted for my taste. Which was a shame, because BHP's music is very unique, their sound bringing to my mind a black, deep and tempestuous sea, the word bathymetry, a severe loneliness.

It's with much surprise and happiness, then, that I can say the Black Heart Procession has got it right. I gave "Not Just Words," from their latest album, The Spell, a try - without expectations or much interest. It took me immediately, propelled by big, steady drums, where the band hadn't been before. To extend the maritime metaphor: they're no longer content to wade in their black seas, and who can blame them after four albums? This song finds them riled and impassioned, doing all they can to keep afloat. Hear him sing "I'm trying to remember!"? Because that is something new, more powerful and more confident and more chilling than I've heard this band before. This, simply put, is a fantastic song, cementing my previously irresolute fandom with remarkable force and style.

Visit the Black Heart Procession online, and buy The Spell here.

See you in June.