Sonic discovery and new directions with Alex Maas of The Black Angels
The Black Angels have spent more than two decades building a reputation as one of modern psychedelia's most enduring acts. From their hypnotic grooves and sprawling soundscapes to their politically charged themes, the Austin outfit have always followed their own path.
Ahead of the band's return to Aotearoa, we caught up with frontman Alex Maas to discuss the group's connection with New Zealand, the spiritual role music plays in his life, and the pursuit of sonic discovery that continues to shape The Black Angels. With new music on the way and a willingness to challenge expectations, it seems the band's next chapter may be their most adventurous yet.
You've returned to New Zealand multiple times now. What keeps you coming back when getting here is a matter of traveling so far from home?
To me, it's always had this kind of exotic thing in my mind. I'm sure the band would concur. But yeah, for us, it is literally on the other side of the world. And the first time we went, we had an amazing time. And that probably planted the seed for us to be like we if we can afford it we want to come back here every year -and the tickets aren't cheap to get over and the long flight doesn't bother us obviously, but it's a great spot and I will tell you that the music there is amazing. Like I don't know, it's something in the water. It's like the wild west to me.
The first time that we came to NZ, people were excited to see us and super nice. And it felt like they got it. They understood what we were doing. It's the wild west of your hemisphere. I love that. The wild north? No. South. Yes, exactly.
With such a busy touring schedule, how do you keep each show fresh and unique for the audience?
Well, that's a really good question. There's always a reset. I think the important thing to do is to realise that some people might have never seen us before. Some people might have been just walking by on their way to dinner and decided to go see some live music. For me, we obviously want to present the band in the best way possible but like but we're human also so there's an element of like maybe we're not always on every single time and that's okay.
There is a struggle in the sense that when you're storytelling and telling the same story over and over that becomes difficult right - it's like how do you keep it believable. For me it's about finding this space in my mind where these songs have a kind of sacred spiritual space and it's about being able to open that door and walk in and close it when the show starts and then and you open it up and go back into the light and into the world. So it's about just being able to find the key to the door. I know that sounds kind of hokey. Yeah.
But that's how I keep it fresh. And again, there will be times when I might be having a bad day and, you'll get what I am that day. And there's something that's nice about that.
After so many years of playing music and touring the world, what keeps you going show after show?
Kind of similar to this question. Yeah. I think for me it's just this never-ending chase for the combination of sounds that feel holy, like a feeling that you've never felt before. And again music is very spiritual to me and I personally am a very selfish musician. I might sound bad, but I don't really care. I don't really care firstly about what anybody else thinks. I care about how I feel and how the music makes me feel. And I know that if I do that, I'm kind of like doing the fans justice by leaning into that. Yeah, I hope I answered the question.
The Black Angels have such a distinct sound. Is this the result of an intentional effect to sound a certain way, or is it the natural expression of the band in a state of flow?
Good question. I think there could be a yes and to both of those. Yes, it's a natural thing, but it's also partially intentional because it is a spiritual thing when we go into the studio or the room to write together. It's sacred ground, a space for creating so when you go there, you don't try to set parameters, you go back and this is going to sound regurgitated but like, if you can rob a bank to our music, then we've done our job.
Yeah, music is I think a lot of it is identifying how you're feeling when you're writing, when you're making art and and and leaning into that feeling. And questioning it. Questioning like, how does this make you feel when you play this riff or when you sing this melody? And kind of navigating around that.
I think there's an unspoken thing that most bands are the thing that they're doing and also at the same time want to break out of it. I hope that if the Black Angels made a 1950s country album it would still feel like the Black Angels. It'd feel like you'd still be able to rob a bank to it but you're just being a different... you'd be in a different car. And that's kind of how I see that whole thing.
In your own words, how has your sound evolved from your earliest releases to now?
Yeah, so we're writing a new album and this might be a question we touch on later, but thematically there's a golden thread. Whatever colour you look at, there's a thread. And a lot of that is, questioning authority. History is always repeating itself.
Look at this crazy shit that's happening, you know? In America, if artists stand up and say, have any opinion on what's going on, people in America will just be like, you need to fucking stay in your lane. And like, I don't know. Isn't this everybody's lane? And whatever happened to freedom of speech?
A lot of our themes are like just what the fuck is going on - why is there so much hatred and killing and when are we going to encourage people to think for themselves. But also just, you know, being able to hopefully be relevant throughout time.
What can we expect to see from you at the upcoming shows in New Zealand? Will we get to hear some of this new music that you're speaking of?
Yes, absolutely. We'll be playing some new music. And I'll say that the new album, and it might be a surprise to people, but I mean, I don't know, maybe not. It's not rock and roll. I'll just leave it at that. We'll probably be playing passover in full in its entirety and some new songs, I'd like to play as many new songs as possible. Yeah, so that's what they can expect.
What are you most excited about for what the future holds for the Black Angels?
Sonic discovery and music evolution. I don't want to be pigeonholed into any kind of thing. I just want evolution and sonic discovery. That's me.
