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I don\u2019t make a habit of employing Yiddish words or phrases in writing of speaking. I\u2019m not a member of the tribe. But when the situations call for it, when no other word will do, I make an exception. Here goes: The Black Watch has some chutzpah.<\/p>\n
Or at least they did in 2011, when they first released an album cheekily titled Led Zeppelin Five<\/i>. Sure, The Replacements called one of their records Let it Be<\/i>, so there\u2019s some precedent for this sort of thing. And just like the \u2018Mats LP didn\u2019t sound anything like the Beatles, The Black Watch\u2019s 2011 release has exactly nothing in musical common with Robert Plant and his pals.<\/p>\n
Instead, Led Zeppelin Five<\/i> is simply another in a long line of appealing albums from this indie rock outfit led by John Andrew Fredrick. There\u2019s jangle, to be sure, but it\u2019s sometimes presented in minimalist fashion (as on the opener, \u201cOscillating.\u201d But the chiming melodicism of \u201cHow Much About Love\u201d is pure pop of the highest order, with sweet vocal harmonies and just the right amount of distortion and crunch (though you have to wait for those qualities to appear).<\/p>\n
Some squalling, atonal guitar from Steve Schayer adds an off-kilter character to \u201cEmily, Are you Sleeping?\u201d But the song as a whole is conventionally catchy. And Rick Woodard\u2019s taut, propulsive drum fills up the excitement quotient.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a hint of danger in \u201cCognate Objects,\u201d and the arrangement is a bit reminiscent of some of the early work by The Church. \u201cEarl Grey Tea\u201d features soaring guitars and impassioned vocals. The gauzy, contemplative \u201cThe Maid\u2019s Been Around\u201d demonstrates The Black Watch\u2019s facility at delivering subtlety and charm via a melody worthy of Crowded House. Had \u201cOnly Lasted\u201d been released in the mid-\u201980s, The Black Watch would have earned a place in the Paisley Underground scene.<\/p>\n
In a fair universe, \u201cThe Stars in the Sky\u201d would be a hit single. It\u2019s easily the most accessible tune on an album that\u2019s jam-packed with such things. The extended \u201cKinda Sorta\u201d starts out as an acoustic number, shifts into squealing sheets of feedback and guitar skronk, goes quiet, and ends up as a lovely, elegiac tune. After the atmospheric \u201cWeirdly,\u201d the album \u2013 the CD version but not the vinyl \u2013 ends up with a cover of The Beatles\u2019 \u201cIt\u2019s All Too Much.\u201d In The Black Watch\u2019s hands, the \u201867 tune from George Harrison has more in common with Steve Hillage\u2019s version.<\/p>\n
On its original release, Led Zeppelin Five<\/i> was something like the band\u2019s 12th<\/sup> long player; they had by that time also released at least five EPs as well. And they didn\u2019t slow down; there have been many releases since (along with some career retrospectives). The one-sheet for this remastered reissue tells us that another album, Here & There<\/i>, is to follow shortly. Presented with that news, Sir Elton John had no comment.<\/p>\n