“Colors are light's suffering and joy.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“He would say that a sound was a color to him.” – Rosemary Breen, describing her brother, Syd Barrett
The musical mind of Christian Bland seems to overflow with colors. The lyrics and even titles of his output with his primary project (the psychedelic mothership, The Black Angels) drip with kaleidoscopic imagery. “Indigo Meadow”, “Black Grease”, “You In Color,” ... “Yellow Elevator #2”. His side project, Christian Bland & The Revelators has followed a similar path, and has released a red album, 2010's The Lost Album, and 2012's Pig Boat Blues.
Unseen Green Obscene, records the third solo flight from Bland and his band, The Revelators. Like all his work, it’s richly detailed with references to Bland’s musical and artistic influences.
Revered touchstones Bo Diddley, Syd Barrett and Brian Wilson are honored here, each with their own track. The label t...
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“Colors are light's suffering and joy.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“He would say that a sound was a color to him.” – Rosemary Breen, describing her brother, Syd Barrett
The musical mind of Christian Bland seems to overflow with colors. The lyrics and even titles of his output with his primary project (the psychedelic mothership, The Black Angels) drip with kaleidoscopic imagery. “Indigo Meadow”, “Black Grease”, “You In Color,” ... “Yellow Elevator #2”. His side project, Christian Bland & The Revelators has followed a similar path, and has released a red album, 2010's The Lost Album, and 2012's Pig Boat Blues.
Unseen Green Obscene, records the third solo flight from Bland and his band, The Revelators. Like all his work, it’s richly detailed with references to Bland’s musical and artistic influences.
Revered touchstones Bo Diddley, Syd Barrett and Brian Wilson are honored here, each with their own track. The label that Bland co-founded with the other producers of Austin Psych Fest, “The Reverberation Appreciation Society” gets it’s own theme song, complete with thunderous gong. His motorcycle gets a sendup too, in “CB160”.
The thread that runs through all of Bland’s work - whether it’s his visual artwork, music with The Black Angels, and the myriad projects of The Reverberation Appreciation Society - Austin Psych Fest and it’s offshoots, the record label, and now an East Austin record store - is a timeless spirit of rock and roll, and in particular the psychedelic kind, circa 1968. He champions it. Lives and breathes it.
Whatever the make, model and serial number of the equipment he favors in the recording process, to Christian Bland this isn't all nostalgia, it's about the future. “To me, it’s not really ‘vintage’ rock ‘n roll. Given the time humans have been on earth, it’s only 50-plus years ago – that’s nothing in the span of human existence. It’s the best music and it needs to be preserved and pushed into the future and expanded upon.”
And what will attentive listeners discover they see when they hear “The Unseen Green Obscene”? The past? The future? The answer will be colored by your own perceptions.
For more information on Christian Bland & The Revelators, please visist austinpsychfest.com
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