by JOHNSON CUMMINS

Steeped in searing psych-rock, Sabbath stoner sludge, proggity proggy prog, the Velvets (but more John than ol’ Lou) and dashes of Can, the eponymous debut from Vancouver’s Black Mountain is guaranteed a slot in the year-end top-ten critics’ polls. True, they may have provided the properly earmarked fodder for the Pitchfork crowd, but they also garnered fans at the other end of the spectrum when Coldplay insisted they do the sweat-act duties on their last tour. The Mirror talked to drummer Matt Camirand on the phone from a tour stop.

Mirror: What was the Coldplay tour like?

Matt Camirand: When our booking agent told us that they wanted to take us on tour, we kind of just blew it off because we thought we would only get $50 a night. It ended up they were insanely nice to us, really outgoing and treated us really well. Playing stadiums is a real trip. At first it was exciting. Our first night in the States, after the Montreal show, our singer couldn’t get into the country. So we showed up in Hartford, just before we were supposed to go on, without a singer, so I just jumped on stage with just a guitar and played some Blood Meridian songs in front of 25,000 people. It was the funnest thing I’ve ever done. Towards the end, though, it got kind of weird because you’re playing in front of these people who are just clapping for you because it’s their one show of the year they leave their house for, and they just assume that’s what they are supposed to do. It was three weeks long and it was getting a little depressing after a while. It was really good to get back and play in bars to people who know who we are.

M: When did you realize the record was really starting to take off?

MC: I guess it was our first tour. Pseudo rock celebrities like that Wayne guy from Flaming Lips started showing up, and we couldn’t understand why people like that were showing up. We also started playing places that were selling out, and we played a show in Brooklyn which was like some sort of 1981 hardcore scene, with people dogpiling and stuff, and that’s when we realized it might be getting bigger than just another weird, quirky band.

M: You guys recorded the record on an eight-track in your rehearsal space. Did you ever foresee it doing this well?

MC: It was really a labour of love. Then the label started expressing serious interest in it while we were making it, and that really kind of surprised us. They were so excited about it that we started getting worried about giving it to them, because we thought they would hate it. I think the record’s lo-fi quality is really resonating with people because it has so much heart. It’s being held up to a lot of Pro Tools-generated records, so it’s going to be different. It’s kind of like VHS versus DVD. I just got back into watching VHS tapes lately, and it looks so different compared to DVDs. After a while, you get so numb to things. Now I can put in a VHS tape and be like, “Cool, look at that grainy feel.” n

With Blood Meridian and Ladyhawk, after a screening of Made in Secret, at Théâtre National (1220 ste-catherine E.) on Friday, Sept. 30, 7 p.m., $15

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