Proving you can’t judge an band by its other projects, Black
Mountaineers Amber Webber and Joshua Wells abandon that band’s
gratuitous jams for one of the most gorgeous albums to come out this
year. Webber has the voice of a warrior striking out in battle,
sometimes warbling in sadness and deep emotion, like a new-generation
Patti Smith with Nick Cave’s gothic sensibility and Kate Bush’s
dramatic flair. This eerie gloom-pop album was recorded with a borrowed
Steinway piano—the chords are big, booming and dramatic, matching
Webber’s mesmerizing vocal presence.
This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2009.