One Track Mind

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For twelve years now, The Black Heart Procession have been a fixture on the indie music scene, taking inspiration from the same arid musical tundra as acts like Calexico but giving that Southwestern desert rock a decidedly more inventive twist. On October 6th, the band will release their new, sixth LP (the appropriately titled Six) on their new home, Temporary Residence. It is their first release since 2006′s critically acclaimed The Spell.

“Rats” begins with some playful synthesizer and effects pedals which belie the dark tone of the lyrics throughout. Indeed, darkness is a force both metaphorical and literal here, as in the first verse: “I look at the lights / There’s nothing here for me / I can’t see the stars in the sky / The buildings reach too high.” While the subject matter of “Rats” may be as seedy and ominous as the title implies, the music itself never falls into the snare of heaviness. Abundant vocal harmonies underpin the song, serving as a buoyant current beneath the thunderheads above, and some well placed keyboard notes dot the choruses, punctuating them with texture and added grace.

If “Rats” is all about telling a story through mood, it’s an unbridled success. One can practically feel the breath of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins on one’s neck.