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

10 August 2009, Allan @ 6:44 pm
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.

Metal Spider Webs by Black Mold
Snow Blindness Is Crystal Antz by Black Mold

P.S. still rooting for Soft Airplane to win the polaris prize.

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Filed under: Uncategorized

Tags: album

4 Comments

1. Nick — August 10, 2009 @ 8:27 pm
   
   

   Very interesting, I enjoyed reading your thoughts on it and I kind of have to agree. However I quite enjoy how obscure it sounds and I think VanGaalen’s attempt to hide behind the music is quite a nice touch.




2. foldered — September 11, 2009 @ 4:12 pm
   
   

   i’ve read interviews with chad and talked a bit about it; i think he feels like his electronic, instrumental, music doesn’t justify making a full release of. in the interview, he said something about them not being “poppy” enough. it does make sense to change the name because this isn’t “Chad VanGaalen” as the music world has known him as. He has said that he has *thousands* of songs that are like, I’m assuming, Black Mold material.

   And you sort of exemplified the reason as to why he released it under a different name when you said it isn’t really an album. I wholeheartedly disagree, but it’s funny how accurate he was in his prediction.




3. foldered — September 11, 2009 @ 4:39 pm
   
   

   and though i’m not a big fan; do we not consider conor oberst and brights eyes albums all conor oberst’s work?




4. Allan — September 13, 2009 @ 7:07 am
   
   

   I’m not sure exactly how it applies. Most people do consider Bright Eyes as purely Conor Oberst. It’s not really fair to the other members of Bright Eyes. Either way comparing CVG to Oberst just doesn’t seem right.

   I may have exemplified the reason CVG may have released it on a second name but to be fair it looks like I’m one of the few naysayers out there. I keep seeing nothing but positive reviews (aside from p4k) and that could added into the negative tone of my review – since I just couldn’t agree with what some of the reviews were saying.

   I guess I should point out, I am still very impressed by CVG’s talents. I think the album could’ve had more work involved. It didn’t need to be poppy or anything but it lacked a clear and solid idea. Rather directionless and while it does have it’s moments in a bigger context it ends up not out there.

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