Kristin Hersh and 50 Foot Wave sound angry that they've been away for more than five years, even though leader Hersh has remained busy elsewhere. Black Pearl, the new release from the trio on Fire Records, stumbles into the room like a drunk sailor, upending things and hurtling a listener back a few decades, to when American college rock offered a real alternative sound. For an artist like Hersh, this kind of thing may be be second nature, but she never makes things seem safe or rote. In that sense, Black Pearl is a beast of a release.
"Staring Into the Sun" both roars and hollers, a riff-monster like something Tad would have conjured up ages ago, only with the unique touch Hersh brings as a singer and band-leader. This is heavy, yes, but there's a fumbling grace about it too. Elsewhere, "Fly Down South" rambles, a duel of bass from Bernard Georges and drums from Rob Ahlers at times, even as it eases into an almost loveliness near its end. This is ruminative music, where ideas are explored, and detours taken, with the force of the central hook invariably drawing the three players back to the fire of the central idea of the starting riff. While "Blush" pummels, there's a playfulness in the hooks that makes this more than a return to proto-grunge forms, for sure.
Hersh rarely tries to overpower the riffs here with her vocals. Her style as a singer has naturally evolved over the decades, perhaps out of physical necessity, but her sense of economy is what drives her performances here. She's astute enough to let Georges and Ahlers duke it out, darting her guitar-lines over the tops of their battles, and very nearly turning some of the better numbers here into instrumental work-outs. This is a power trio, make no mistake, but one which favors a purity of exploration, where risks are taken but nobody is really just showing off for no reason. Black Pearl rumbles and vibrates with force, each selection a model of how to rock without being too muso or prog about it. In that sense, it's a tight record, even as moments here feel like the explorations of a fusion band from years ago.
Black Pearl is out tomorrow via Fire Records.
More details on 50 Foot Wave and Kristin Hersh via her official website.
[Photo: Steve Gullick]