by Brett Abrahamsen
A dense specter of ghostly melancholia permeates the vastly underrated debut album 1 from San Diego’s Black Heart Procession. This album is haunted, world-weary, and creepy; it ranks just a notch below the band’s justly revered follow up 2. It was a surprising departure from Pall Jenkins and Tobias Nathaniel’s excellent but far noisier band Three Mile Pilot, although the dark and brooding atmosphere evokes a similar feeling.
“The Waiter” sets the tone immediately: dirge-like, autumnal, skeletal. “The Old Kind of Summer” follows in a similar vein. Standout “Release My Heart” improves on this template by introducing a powerful organ/vocal melody. “Even Thieves Couldn’t Lie,” on the other hand, is the album’s weakest track, featuring cloying lyrics such as “she says we don’t need the money if we’ve got us.” “Blue Water Black Heart” successfully returns to the style of “Release My Heart.” “Heart Without A Home” (another standout) blends a captivating melody with a funereal atmosphere. The brief interlude “The Winter My Heart Froze” would fit well in a horror movie soundtrack, and serves as an impressive demonstration of Tobias Nathaniel’s instrumental prowess. “Stitched to my Heart” straddles the line between love song and requiem. The slightly more upbeat “Square Heart” features, once again, an impressive melody (as well as excellent piano work). The world-weary “In A Tin Flask” sounds like a prelude to what is arguably the record’s masterpiece, “A Heart The Size of A Horse.” This cryptic finale stands with Songs Ohia’s “Incantation” as one of the creepiest songs of its era. The track is profound and poignant, with seemingly religious overtones.
Black Heart Procession’s 1 is nearly flawless. As previously alluded to, the lyrics are not always great, and perhaps including the word “heart” in nearly all of the song titles is somewhat gimmicky. Nonetheless, Pall Jenkins and Tobias Nathaniel prove themselves as not only masterful multi-instrumentalists, but excellent songwriters. The best material here is just as good as the best from 2, and the album demonstrates an impressive versatility from the erstwhile noise-rockers. One hopes that this album’s reissue gives it a wider audience. The first two Black Heart Procession albums (along with the first Three Mile Pilot album, to say nothing of Jenkins’ arsenal of collaborations) stand as essential listening.