……..and so it came to Pass……over.
Hobart’s Dark MOFO Festival has become, over the years, synonymous with left-field artists, bands and genres. From soul-destroying death metal to the quirkiest of pop, it has had, and continues to have it all. It has, in fact, become the original blueprint for other festivals around Australia, keen to replicate its’ success.
So in 2026, psychedelia took centre stage on the 12th of June. This is not the first psychedelic band to grace these shores during Dark Mofo. Artists such as Spiritualized, J. Mascis’ Witch, DIIV and Electric Wizard amongst others have plied their wares to large crowds gathered from around Australia, and indeed the world, in mid-winter Hobart.
However, in 2026, one of the key bands that has been at the forefront of modern psychedelic music, The Black Angels, rolled into town to ostensibly celebrate the 20th anniversary of their acclaimed debut LP, Passover.
A band who not only are renowned for their own music, but for championing the genre through being the founders of Levitation (Austin Psych Fest) which has been running annually since 2008 and still runs to this day (pandemic years hiatus excluded).
The tension for true fans of the band was palpible, with the crowd quickly swelling in the final 15 minutes before the scheduled start. As the band filed out onto stage, Alex Maas, lead singer, began proceedings by asking the crowd which one of love and hate would win, before answering the question with “Whichever you feed”. A thought-provoking opening indeed.
Then, like a Vesuvian blast, the crowd erupted as the first few bars of the thundering riff of Young Men Dead, the lead track from the Passover album, kicked off the night accompanied by dazzling white lighting coming from just about every angle imaginable.
The contrast between the almost totally white and black lighting with the signature red of the Dark Mofo festival itself was starkly contrasting, mirroring Passover’s Christian Bland-designed cover artwork.
The white light (at times blindingly so) set the scene for the first half of the near-two hour show which saw the band play their debut album, Passover, in its’ entirety. This was followed by songs from across the rest of the band’s 9 album and numerous EP back-catalogue, along with a new song, Daisies (hopefully a portent of things to come). This second half of the performance was accompanied by a more ‘traditional’ coloured, psychedelic light show, giving further prominence to the Passover album.
The Black Angels music on the night reflected their love of their psychedelic predecessors and inspirations, The 13th Floor Elevators, The Velvet Underground and Spaceman 3. Deeply dark, cinematic and awash with reverb and echo, their music blends a sense of foreboding with lighter waves of hope and humanity. Personal favourite, Manipulation, is a beautifully constructed example, as guitarist, Christian Bland opens the singing with his near- monotone vocal before lead singer, Alex Maas takes over in the choruses with an intensity and release that sets the song on fire. There was also a great sense of this from the crowd, as it seemed to lift its’ fervour as the song played out.
Throughout the evening, Stephanie Bailey’s powerfully motorik drumming sets the scene with its’ drone-like drive, and is perfectly complimented by newest member, Misti Hamrick’s thundering bass as they lay the foundation for Christian Bland and Jake Garcia’s effects-laden guitars to swirl while multi-instrumentalist lead singer, Alex Maas’s distinctive vocals reach out to envelop your senses as you wallow in the hypnotic magic of the band’s music.
Whilst The Black Angels may not be everybody’s cup of tea (and many were tasting the band for the first time), the vast majority of the 1100+ crowd left feeling that they had witnessed a spiritual event, this reviewer included.
The Black Angels Gallery:
All images: ©fullonrockphotography/Andrew Fuller
