Jericho by Chris Black

Jericho is Chris Black's first solo release, and was recorded with upright bass, banjo, guitar, accordion, violin, kick drums, piano, saw blades, brake drums, tambourines and maracas, all acquired by chance, and all played by Black himself.

Black recently completed a forty-day solo tour of the United States in support of Jericho, and another, longer trip is in the works for the late summer and fall. An EP of music for violin and abused contrabass is planned for completion in time for the summer tour.

ASSORTED PRESS:

"Armed with an upright bass, acoustic guitar, banjo and live loops, Black's music veers from hushed to hair-raising."

The Onion, March 1st, 2007

"The dark crunch of strings rips through the speakers as a warning to all passersby. This is no ordinary musician. Reaching beyond the boundaries of genre ... Chris Black debuts his solo album, a collection of more throb than beat, instruments churning and bleeding all over this canvas."

By Darcie Stevens, Austin Chronicle, Thursday, July 20th, 2006.

"The instrumentation may change throughout the album, but the vibe remains the same: This is dark stuff."

The Tucson Weekly, February 8th, 2007

"Jericho is a dark trip, an 11-track bender, a 48-minute dunking in murky waters vibrating with upright bass, growling vocals and perfectly placed four-letter words ... it's a little hard not to fall prey to its sinister charm."

By Skylar Browning, Montana Independent

"...and the musician Chris Black steps up to unleash a tight series of gypsy improvisations on his excellent violin . . . The audience, as Black whacks the devil into his fiddlestick, is just about grooving."

By Wayne Alan Brenner, Austin Chronicle, Thursday, August 27, 2004

"It's noise and frenetic, but never chaotic or unfocused. Holding court above it all is Black, yowling into an old-fashioned microphone like the bastard spawn of Nick Cave and Diamanda Galas, spinning tales of good intentions gone bad and love affairs gone south with the relish of a carnival barker hawking the bearded fat lady."

By Michael Toland, High Bias, February 17, 2002

"Un comble. Voilá Les Wampas qui commettent, sans crier gare, ce qui s'annonce comme l'un des albums francais essentiels de cette nouvelle année...La faute, au premier chef, &aacute Chris Black, l'habituel bassiste des Shoulders, convi&eacute sur ce disque en catastrophe, et qu'on ne tardera pas &aacute surnommer le métronome ondulant."

By Cyril Deluermoz, Rock & Folk, February, 1993

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