Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
In not one chemistry lesson as a teenager did you ever come across the spectacle of the mix of Angel Dust & Cyanide in a test tube and watching the outcome with steamed up glasses covering your eyes and the asbestos mat ready to catch the flowing liquid in which would result in elaborately drawn conclusions, and awesome results.
Such is the disappointment of a youthful life lesson that to wait till you hear it as a sonic melody, a progressive storm that rocks the heavens, that those same plastic goggles, the white lab coats that were ill fitting in youth, suddenly take on the metaphorical protection from the fallout of the heady combination studiously applied, and by doing so the result is one of fierce brilliance, an illuminated conclusion that is bright, intelligent, and one of remarkable groove.
Part angelic Americana, part devilishly cool Progressive, The Black Feathers, Ray Hughes and Sian Chandler, weave a spell over the scientific cauldron and produce a set of songs that are intricate, comprehensive, tonally responsive, and altogether outrageously pulsating with a form of life that it requires its own designation and further study.
Angel Dust & Cyanide is not just an album, a collection of songs, it is gateway to another realm, an opening of the door of reflection and exciting, unrestrained beginnings, and one that is impossible to only listen to once in a sitting.
The test tube of discovery awaits, and as the melody and allusion of tracks such as the intriguing opener, Lighthouse On Fire, Chemical Romance, Golden Hour, Barcelona, the album’s title track of Angel Dust & Cyanide, and a truly sublime version of Portishead’s Glory Box all become part of the scientific process of illumination, so the gathering of the elemental in Angel Dust and the sparkling danger of cyanide present themselves in one explosive combination that will blow the roof off any lab.
Part Folk, part Americana, all progressive, this is the conclusion of exploration without set boundaries and pre-conceived limitations; this is chemistry for all and one that defies expectations. Angel Dust & Cyanide, a recipe for change.
The Black Feathers release Angel Dust & Cyanide on July 8th.
Ian D. Hall