Black Mold (Chad VanGaalen) – Snow Blindness Is Crystal Antz

10 August 2009, Allan @ 6:44 pm Black Mold (Chad VanGaalen) Snow Blindness Is Crystal Antz

I hate alter egos. It’s like saying I have a different personality that I don’t like to show with my own perception that I have to hide behind it as if it’s a different character. Black Mold, an electronica/experiment alter-ego of Canadian folk artist Chad VanGaalen strives to be different and hiding beneath that character. It makes zero sense, would Black Mold’s take away the perception of what people have of CVG (a HIGHLY respected artist).

All it does it make it more obscure and less people actually aware of other material existing. Whereas a simple message of “I’m doing something different, an electronica album – you might not like it” serves the same purpose yet doesn’t make it harder for people to find. /rant

Snow Blindness Is Crystal Antz features no focus but is just 19 tracks of pure experimentation. While I personally find that endearing, it’s not that great. It doesn’t have that long term factor to it. I could call it mush with all the short tracks. However, it does seem to work sonically. It’d be a welcome addiction to CVG’s work but alas it’s on a different name. (One has to wonder about the potential this leaves for future CVG records)

Being a fan of CVG likely will pique your interest but that’s as far as it goes. Experimentation is welcome but likely won’t impress. It does lay the groundwork for potentially exciting CVG record’s IF he’s able to incorporate this into his music. Otherwise it becomes forgotten work on a pointless alter-ego.

Rating: 2.75 out of 5
As for an album, the album lacks tracks. The experimentation is very good and while it’s nice to see – I hate it being on a different section of CVG’s artistic ability. The clear goal should be using this talent with his other work and not shoving it aside for nobody to hear. Snow Blindness Is Crystal Antz hardly qualifies as an album, more like a brainstorm of ideas or a collage of the randomness that is CVG’s brain. I can’t give it a good score, it’s not a repeat listen by any means and it makes no effort to reel you in.

AWmusic