The Blacks Are Back
By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 5, 2010 7:20PM
File this under reunions we seriously thought would never happen. We were surprised when The Blacks resurfaced for a set at last year's Bloodshot anniversary party at Hideout, but we're absolutely shocked the band decided to continue on and record an EP of new material, the release of which they will celebrate at Schubas tomorrow night.
The backbone of The Blacks was the former husband-wife team of Danny and Gina Black. The band dissolved along with their relationship and while each went on to create music separately, we never really got the feeling either ever wanted to collaborate again. Apparently time does indeed heal old wounds, and in this case we're all the luckier for it, since the new EP In Sickness and Health might be our favorite thing the band has ever recorded. We never really got into them the first time around, though we were certainly in the minority since many folks really dug their gothic country vibe, but the new EP has us hooked.
Kicking off somewhat ironically with "Ten Years," a song that could be a summary of the band's hiatus but was actually written back just before the band took its extended break, the disc slinks in quietly. Things surge into gear with follow-up "I'm In Love," a slow steady crawler that explodes into garage stomp choruses powered by drummer James Emmenegger and weaving Gina, Danny and guitarist Nora O’Connor's vocals intertwining with together in plaintive beauty. things pullback for the fuzzed country sway of "Can't Explain," mellowed by Gina's gently sawing cello bow. The gentle "If It All Falls Through" closes the EP with farewell whisper that both chills and melts the heart, something the Blacks seems especially adept at doing.
The EP's six songs are marked by the four distinct musical vices in The Blacks coming together to create something both louder and softer than their earlier work, almost as if the intervening years have allowed the quartet to breathe more easily amongst each other and create something that is both accessible and powerful.
The Blacks play tomorrow, March 6, at Schubas, 3159 N Southport, 10 p.m., $12, 21+
In Sickness and Health is out March 9 and is a digital-only EP. The first 300 orders come with a limited-edition numbered poster designed by Danny Black and silk screened by Crosshair Silkscreen.