The Black

Garage rock geniuses the Black have been poking around Austin and elsewhere since 2002. David Longoria had the tunes and the pipes. Andy Morales had the drums. Guitarist Alan Schaefer joined in ‘04, and Yamal Said replaced Morales in ‘05. Longoria has done time in the 2005 iteration of And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, as has Schaefer.

But the Black might be most notorious for a revolving cast of bassists, enough to field a decent, if short, basketball team. Previous occupants have included such luminaries as the Crackpipes’ Nick Moulos, Pink Nasty and Zach Hennard. The current draftee is Ryan Hall.

The Black’s only full-length CD, “Tanglewood,” was released in 2005. But the new EP “Donna” feels like a quantum leap. This is the kind of country that Bob Dylan used to make — lead twang, lightly strummed rhythm guitar, unobtrusive bass and driving drums. “Eshu Blues” and the title track really do sound like “Blonde on Blonde” outtakes. Clearly, they should have been on the soundtrack for “I’m Not There.” - Austin-American Statesman