By Mike Faloon
Last summer Black Wine released their second album, Summer of Indifference. I listened to it a lot and kept a journal. It’s part of a zine called Learning to Surf. Here is day one.
When I hear a new Black Wine record I gauge how much rock they’ve included versus how much pop they’ve included—what’s the ratio of stomping and thumping to sweetness and light. On first listen Summer of Indifference (Don Giovanni Records) leans heavy on the stomp and thump.
The album cover looks like a still from a Wes Anderson movie. Big simple typeface. Subtle but deliberate color scheme—the band’s dressed in black and white standing in front of leafy green trees. They’re all at different heights (kneeling, slouching, standing).
On the back of their first album (Black Wine, Don Giovanni, 2010) they included a note that said “Recorded and mixed to tape—with no beat or pitch correction.” I love that. It reminds me of the anti-synthesizer notes Queen included on their early albums. On their debut album (Queen, 1973) they declared “…and nobody played synthesizer.” Were synthesizers that prominent in the pop and rock world of the early ‘70s? I love how forthright they were—We are not cheating!—and the implied wag of the finger at everyone else—But they are!
