Black Mountain Shares Nostalgic New Track “Licensed To Drive”

Black Mountain released a new video for “Licensed To Drive” a track from their new album, Destroyer via Jagjaguwar. Directed by Zev Deans, the video is a trippy flash from couch surfing to being inside a video game. The director says, “‘Licensed to Drive’ is a deep dive into the soul of a late 1970’s living room, an exploration of the deep psychedelic fantasy at the core of the birth of the video game.”

In the video intro, lead singer McBean sits on the couch mouthing lyrics, “You’re spirit wheel is burning” and then he puts in a game called “Licensed to Drive” and looks at his bandmate and nods his head. They start the game and before you know it he is inside a car driving down a highway wearing a leather vest and dark sunglasses. He is rocking out with his female counterpart and drummer banging out on the drums as he sits on the bumper. There is a scary looking bat flying dangerously close to the car. A couple motorcycles with bad-ass rockstar girls are riding next to the car. The lyrics, “Close, we’re living close” blare in the background before the song suddenly stops then slowly picks up tempo before fading out.

The video was directed by Zev Deans, produced by Brendan McGowan, director of photography, Vivian Gray and line producer, Toula Sweeney. According to Consequence of Sound, the title “Licensed to Drive” is a reference to how McBean just got his driver’s license in 2017.

In a press statement, Black Mountain is described as a band that has “always been great at doing all the things that bongwater-gargling riff-monsters should be good at doing. They have titanic canyon-spanning hooks. They’ve got enough dynamic range to switch their style up a few times within the space of a single song… On Destroyer, all of that is in very clear evidence. It’s enough to fill up your soul.”

The new album, Destroyer is Black Mountain’s first album in three years, since 2016’s IV. The band includes Stephen McBean, Arjan Miranda, Rachel Fannan from Sleepy Sun, Adam Bulgasem from Soft Kill and Jeremy Schmidt. The album includes songs “Future Shade”  “Boogie Lover” and “Licensed to Drive.” The song “Boogie Lover” is loud with heavy, synthesized guitar, and deep vocals.

Black Mountain Tour Dates:

05/25 – Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole
05/26 – Pioneertown, CA @ Stoned and Dusted
08/11 – Bagnes, CH @ Palp Festival
08/16 – Las Vegas, NV @ Psycho Las Vegas