Black Pumas – “Conjuring New Charms from Familiar Elements”

Above: Black Pumas’ vocalist Eric Burton and guitarist Adrian Quesada – Minneapolis, September 11, 2024.

As you might have gathered from my recent Photo of the Day, I saw the psychedelic soul band Black Pumas this past Wednesday at Surly Brewing Festival Field in Minneapolis. I was there with my friend David, and for a good half-hour we positioned ourselves at the foot of the stage where I was able to take some great photos.

It was a fantastic show, with the band playing many of their most popular songs – Colors, Gemini Sun, Fire, More Than a Love Song, and Black Moon Rising – from the two albums they’ve released to date, Black Pumas (2019) and Chronicles of a Diamond (2023).

Above: Black Pumas' backing vocalists Lauren Cervantes (left) and Angela Miller.

What the Black Pumas didn’t play last Wednesday night was their sublime 2020 cover of what’s been called “the first existential country song,” “Wichita Lineman,” so I share it here this evening for “music night” at The Wild Reed. It’s followed by a review of Chronicles of a Diamond. . . . Enjoy!

Martin Amis contended that writing becomes “less significant [when] anyone could have written it.” The authorial voice is king. Maybe he’d have appreciated how fully Black Pumas’ singer-songwriter Eric Burton’s joyful, antic spirit defines the soul revivalists’ excellent second album. Surely no one else could come up with the one-two punch of sun-dappled single “Mrs. Postman,” wherein Burton delivers a bushy-tailed tribute to blue-collar work, before approaching the title track from the perspective of a diamond in the back seat of a Cadillac.

Producer and co-writer Adrian Quesada also plays his A game. Black Pumas’ searing live show (“electric church,” according to Burton), as seen at events such as the Grammys and President Biden’s inauguration, feeds back into Quesada’s studio science here, broadening and deepening the band’s Neil Young meets Wu-Tang vibe. Although their self-titled debut had a glittering aura, the basic standard here is higher. From first note to last, Chronicles of a Diamond swaggers from the speakers. Even the love songs have new light cast on that hoary old topic by the roaring fire of Burton’s voice, while Quesada layers psychedelics and electronica into the orchestral mix, always conjuring new charms from familiar elements.

– Damien Morris
The Guardian
October 29, 2023

Related Off-site Links:
Black Pumas – Official Website.
From Busker to Black Puma: The Musical Journey of Singer Eric Burton – Spencer Fordin (Pasatiempo, June 7, 2024).
Black Pumas Guitarist Adrian Quesada’s Music Knows No Boundaries – Joe Gross (Texas Highways, August 2024).
Black Pumas Talk New Album, Chronicles of a Diamond – Wonderland (June 26, 2024).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Black Pumas’ “Colors”: A Celebration of Family, Connections, Movement, and Life
• Photo of the Day – September 11, 2024

Images: Michael J. Bayly.