I was today years old when I found out about Porto-based band The Black Wizards. I’m meeting their music at album number four, Force Majeure & The Acts of God. The album title comes from a legal phrase used to describe uncontrollable circumstances that stop people from doing what they promised.
A bit of a departure from my usual shouty feminist punk (mostly- I do listen to other things too, I pinky promise!), this album is more of a call back to classic rock ‘n’ roll. It feels retro in many ways to me, though the internet reliably informs me that this is something of a change from their previously more stoner-rock-based sound. I hear elements of straight-up ‘60s-inspired rock ‘n’ roll, prog rock (but without the bloated indulgence which I hate), psychedelia and blues, all given a modern twist.
The album gets straight down to business with ‘Ain’t Talking’, which is full-blown rock ‘n’ roll from the opening notes. There’s something wonderfully old-school about the sound, with the fuzz and swagger giving it the feeling of a record that could have been pulled from a much older era, while still sounding like a modern band rather than a straight-up nostalgia act.
‘Loose’ takes things into more psychedelic territory, with a wandering, slightly woozy feel that fits the subject matter perfectly. The song is about anxiety and the feeling of being trapped inside your own head, and there’s something fitting about the music feeling like it is wandering around alongside those thoughts. The band describe it as being about accepting those thought patterns and learning how to navigate them, and the wobbly synth adds another layer to that slightly unsettled feeling.
‘Killing The Buzz’ brings the rock ‘n’ roll swagger back, with a heavier, driving sound and a sharp sense of humour. It also introduces the album’s more political side, taking aim at the absurdity of political spectacle. There’s something particularly satisfying about hearing a band tackle serious subjects without making the music itself feel heavy or miserable.
Then there’s ‘Beat’, which is one of the tracks that really shows off the album’s ability to move between different styles. There’s a heavy, high-energy rock sound that reminded me of bands like Royal Blood, but alongside it is a more dreamy, retro section that changes the atmosphere completely.
‘Wishing Well’ is another highlight for me. I can very easily imagine listening to this on a long road trip (if I could drive that is) windows down and volume up. There are definitely elements of prog rock here, but thankfully without the self-important, indulgently lengthy side of the genre that tends to lose me. At just over three minutes, it gets where it needs to go without feeling the need to prove how clever it is by hanging around for ten minutes. Instead, it’s fun, melodic and full of movement.
Elsewhere, ‘Ain’t Joking’ keeps the rock ‘n’ roll energy going, while ‘Caffeine’ takes a more dreamy psychedelic route. These different moods work surprisingly well together, making Force Majeure & The Acts of God feel like a journey rather than a collection of songs that all sound the same.
There’s a real sense of the classic era of rock running through the album. I can hear hints of the psychedelia of T. Rex, the swagger of The Kinks and the heavier side of early Led Zeppelin, but The Black Wizards aren’t simply trying to recreate the past. The fuzzed-out guitars and analogue feel give the album that vintage warmth, while the sharper arrangements and occasional modern touches stop it from becoming a history lesson in rock music.
There is also something refreshingly imperfect about the production. The album was recorded in an intense five-day session, and rather than polishing every rough edge away, the band have allowed some of that rawness to remain. I think that works particularly well here. It feels like a band playing together rather than a collection of sounds that have been scrubbed until every last human element has disappeared.
And while the album has plenty of classic rock swagger, there is more going on beneath the surface. The songs were written against a backdrop of an increasingly chaotic political world, with themes around power, social division, gender and toxic masculinity finding their way into the lyrics. That gives the album some substance beneath all the fuzz and groove.
Force Majeure & The Acts of God wasn’t necessarily what I expected when I sat down to listen to The Black Wizards for the first time, but it has been a very enjoyable introduction. It is retro without being stuck in the past, psychedelic without disappearing into a haze, and prog-inspired without ever becoming bloated.
For someone whose musical comfort zone is usually much more along the lines of loud, shouty punk, I have to admit The Black Wizards have made a pretty convincing case for stepping outside of it. There’s plenty here to turn up loud and let yourself get carried away with – preferably while pretending you’re driving down an American highway in 1973.
Force Majeure & The Acts of God is out now and you can get it on Bandcamp
The Black Wizards Socials- Facebook/Instagram
Review by Hayley Foster da Silva
Keep up to date with all new content on Joyzine via our
Facebook | Bluesky | Instagram | Threads | Mailing List