Sydney musician Peter Black, also just known as Blackie, has had an up and down year. Australian Guitar Magazine named Blackie as one of Australia’s best guitarists but he was also recently the victim of a vicious late night assault. No Dangerous Gods In Tunnel is hence released under a bit of a tragic pall.
A quiet album showcasing Black’s hushed vocals over a backdrop featuring, predominantly, the sole plucking of his acoustic guitar. Tracks such as ‘All is Forgotten’ and ‘Shack’ underline the beautiful simplicity of this sparse approach. ‘Looking for the Devil in the Detail’ shows how Black is able to conjure a lush dark atmosphere that ebbs and swells with the melody.
However, Black’s lyrics are too often very simplistic and too many songs forego emotional depth with repetitive ‘la la la’ refrains. ‘Tickle’ starts beautifully with the delicate observation of lovers’ breath turning to mist but peters out into another rather dull bout of ‘la’s’.
The lack of variation in arrangement, tempo and even guitar playing begins to drag on. It’s only until the later stretches of the album where ‘Under Hipsupposedness’ and ‘Pity Ya Hearts a Bubble ‘cause I’m Such a Prick’ appear to balance out proceedings that you witness Black’s versatility as a songwriter.
The songs sound good independently, but as a constructed listening experience don’t hold up quite so well and the album would definitely been served by a more balanced track listing.
– Jacob Robinson
