Album Review: The Black Watch – For All the World
“Come on,” I can almost hear you telling me. “You’ve told us plenty of times that The Black Watch are prolific. Tell us something else.” Fair enough. John Andrew Fredrick and his band mates have crafted yet another winning collection of songs with For All the World. It’s their eleventy-billionth album, and most recent since the two albums they released last year, Weird Rooms and Future Strangers.
Right out of the gate, “Mal de Mer” washes over the listener with a sound that seamlessly combines shoegaze, alt-rock and ear-candy pop. The touchstones I’ve mentioned in connection with The Black Watch in past reviews all apply here, but mentioning them again by name is (a) redundant and (b) likely to distract potential listeners from the band’s originality, a quality it has in spades.
On second thought, “Surely You Rally” will remind some of The Cure crossed with The Teardrop Explodes. And hey, that’s wonderful. The driving bass lines of the song – one of The Black Watch’s trademark sonic values — draws the listener in and holds ‘em firm. Yet despite mention of any number of ‘80s acts as reference points overlooks the important fact that this music feels timeless. It could have come out years ago (and you just somehow missed it) or it could be brand-new. As it happens, the latter is true.
Few bands are as deft and applying atonal, skronky lead guitar lines to catchy melodies, with the result the kind of thing that can please fans of either or both styles. Fredrick manages to pack a brief rave-up into even the briefest of tunes. The album is stuffed with shimmering melancholy pop like “Not For Us,” dancefloor ‘80s-ish gems like “In the Dark” and sophisticated art rock like the sweeping “Achilles Past.”
Put yet another way, and to save a bit of time, anyone who has enjoyed even one of The Black Watch’s previous releases may well find that For All the World is superior even to that. All others are encouraged to check it out as well.
About the Author
Bill Kopp
With a background in marketing and advertising, Bill Kopp got his professional start writing for Trouser Press. After a stint as Editor-in-chief for a national music magazine, Bill launched Musoscribe in 2009, and has published new content every business day since then (and every single day for several years). The more than 5000 interviews, essays, and reviews on Musoscribe reflect Bill's keen interest in American musical forms, most notably rock, jazz, and soul. His work features a special emphasis on reissues and vinyl. Bill's work also appears in many other outlets both online and in print. He regularly hosts lecture/discussions on artists and albums of historical importance (including monthly events Music to Your Ears and Music Movie Mondays), and is a frequent guest on music-focused radio programs and podcasts. In Spring 2023 he taught a history of Rock 'n' Roll at UNC Asheville's College for Seniors. He also researches and authors liner notes for album reissues -- some 40 to date -- and co-produced a reissue of jazz legend Julian "Cannonball" Adderley's final album. His first book, Reinventing Pink Floyd: From Syd Barrett to The Dark Side of the Moon was published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2018, and in paperback in 2019. His second book, Disturbing the Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave, was published in 2021 by HoZac Books. His third book, What's the Big Idea: 30 Great Concept Albums is available now. Read even more about him here.