Black Mountain don't strike me as a band that follow what goes on in modern music. True, they've supported Coldplay, but you just can't quite picture them scouring Myspace to hear the next big thing or discussing the talent, or rather lack of, on this years Brit Awards list of nominees. No, Black Mountain know what they like and that's a healthy dose of 70's psychedelic prog rock. The influence of bands like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath are heavy here, shaping the sound of the five-piece from Vancouver on their ambitious second album.Most of the songs on In The Future aren't quite as long as the 6 minute-plus jaunts of their previous effort, but there's room for the 16-minute epic 'Bright Lights'. It's the sort of journey that you could see Muse taking if they explored their prog influences to the max. The slow burning extended intro crashes into an explosive 3-minute guitar riff that blows a hole in your ear drums, before coming down with a Pink Floyd-esque refrain until building again to its impressive climax. 'Tyrants' runs in a similar vein. It takes different twists and turns, bending the mind of the listener as it shifts from riffs and expansive drumming into near silence and back again. If it all gets a bit too much, there's always the brilliant folky 'Stay Free' and the soothing closer 'Night Walks' for comfort after the senses have taken a battering elsewhere.Someone ought to check if frontman Stephen McBean has a Dolorean hidden away somewhere; it seems as though he's brought the seventies back with him after a quick trip. The lyric "I can't stand modern music" from their self-titled debut sums this record up perfectly because there isn't a shred of it anywhere. But, do they have a place in this modern era of skinny jeans and 'nu-rave'? Most certainly. 76%Links Black Mountain [official site] [myspace] [buy it]