I make no apologies for the way in which I found the group Black Lab. The internet is all about connections, links and threads, after all, so it is entirely in keeping that I should first have heard the group's song, Mine Again, as the background music to a Sidepodcast video entitled Bulls Versus Lions. Lately I have noticed an unexpected coincidence of interests between music lovers and F1 racing enthusiasts; it happens in me so perhaps I should not be surprised.
Black Lab
A quick search in YouTube revealed that the group's most famous achievement appears to be the theme to the Transformers movie, a respectable effort but obviously constrained by subject matter to a rather melodramatic ethos. Further investigation revealed such songs as This Night and Lonely Boy, both rather angst-ridden and dark songs yet with strong melodies and very competently performed.
The short clip of See the Sun is considerably brighter and closer to what we expect from a Californian band. We hear the influence of misery-ridden British groups like Coldplay in some of Black Lab's music but, thankfully, it is tempered with the sunnier outlook of the West Coast.
And that leads me to another thought. Lately, so many of the bands that seem interesting to me originate in California; am I seeing a burst of innovation and new directions coming from the west or is it more that Californian groups connect more strongly with the history of music from previous decades and so are more accessible to me? I don't really know.
But, to return to the theme of links and connections and threads, I would point you to Chunter's site as an example of combining interests leading to new discoveries. My first connection with Chunter was through F1 but he is a musician too; have a listen to the nifty little Podcast player at the top of the right column and discover some very interesting experiments in electronic music.
Update August 11, 2007
Sidepodcast has pointed me at the Bumrush campaign where he first heard Black Lab. And that has led me to the Black Lab site where you can hear more of their music.
The internet is a wonderful thing, revealing all these unexpected links and connections!
Black Lab
A quick search in YouTube revealed that the group's most famous achievement appears to be the theme to the Transformers movie, a respectable effort but obviously constrained by subject matter to a rather melodramatic ethos. Further investigation revealed such songs as This Night and Lonely Boy, both rather angst-ridden and dark songs yet with strong melodies and very competently performed.
The short clip of See the Sun is considerably brighter and closer to what we expect from a Californian band. We hear the influence of misery-ridden British groups like Coldplay in some of Black Lab's music but, thankfully, it is tempered with the sunnier outlook of the West Coast.
And that leads me to another thought. Lately, so many of the bands that seem interesting to me originate in California; am I seeing a burst of innovation and new directions coming from the west or is it more that Californian groups connect more strongly with the history of music from previous decades and so are more accessible to me? I don't really know.
But, to return to the theme of links and connections and threads, I would point you to Chunter's site as an example of combining interests leading to new discoveries. My first connection with Chunter was through F1 but he is a musician too; have a listen to the nifty little Podcast player at the top of the right column and discover some very interesting experiments in electronic music.
Update August 11, 2007
Sidepodcast has pointed me at the Bumrush campaign where he first heard Black Lab. And that has led me to the Black Lab site where you can hear more of their music.
The internet is a wonderful thing, revealing all these unexpected links and connections!