Andrew’s Judgmental Album Reviews: Black Belt Eagle Scout – The Land, The Water, The Sky (2023)

This is going to be another one of those ‘going in blind’ reviews. Since there’s a few classic metal bands releasing albums next week (LA Guns, Metallica, OverKill); it’s safe to say my next few weeks are spoken for. Therefore, as I was looking around for something this week, I stumbled across one hell of a name. The group name intrigued me, finding out they are a mostly one woman operation is also something that sparked my interest. Seemingly a fusion of Native American Pow Wow moments and Indie/Alt Rock, this is definitely one of those weird concoctions that tend to resonate with me.

Now let’s give it a listen and see if Katherine Paul’s Northwestern Native hybrid Indie sound passes judgment!

• Artist: Black Belt Eagle Scout
• Album: The Land, The Water, The Sky (2023)
• Label: Saddle Creek
• Total Track Time: 46:34

My Blood Runs Through This Land definitely gives off that Grunge/Alt vibe with the echoed out vocals, distorted guitar and driving drums at a slower to mid tempo. Very reminiscent of Hole or Alice in Chains. Musically the arrangement really gets across the atmosphere of connecting with the land and becoming one during a tumultuous time. Sedna is an interesting song. Since the Goddess Sedna is a story in many different folk regions, but there’s also numerous iterations of the story. Consistently she’s the Goddess of the Sea, so this definitely falls into theme with the album title. Lyrically it is a song about love, but what kind of love is hidden in the imagery. It could be love of the Earth, it could be love of a person or it could be even more abstract since the basis is around a mythological Goddess. Ending with this verse; “I wish I could save you by myself, But I know the sacrifice is loved, The village inches away in seldom, But I have the markings on myself”, is poetic and abstract all at the same time with the imagery of sacrificing oneself for love. Salmon Stinta is a very ambient and somber little tune about salmon migrating upstream. There’s really not a lot to the song, but the ambiance makes it a nice little easy listening moment on the album.

Blue literally has about one verse and is a simple strumming song. Its colored in that reflective and despaired atmosphere with the lyrics about feeling lonely, unloved and being in a dark place. Musically the strum starts to pick up a little more like breaking out of the darkness to a light at the end of the tunnel. Musically this is great, the lyrics help hammer home the reason for the arrangement but, this is pretty damn cool. On The River is the shortest song on the album, and definitely leaves a lot to be interpreted. It could be talking about missing someone or something, but again, sparse lyrics and just really nice and somber music to drive the emotions. Nobody is a simple, yet complex, Indie Rock tune. Almost musically sounding like Barenaked Ladies, we get a song which is either about love of a person, or her desire to express her culture into the mainstream. “Nobody sang it for me like I wanna sing it to you, Nobody sang it for me like I wanna sing it to you all the time, Yeah, I feel it in my bones, Like the lines you carve for me, And it moves right through my skin, I can hear it in the breeze” – the concept of nobody doing it for her elicits exactly where my thought process is with the song. Its either wanting to express her love to a person, or her love for her heritage since there aren’t really any notable Native pop culture musical artists.

Fancy Dance is surprisingly more of a surfer song vibe and then the drums kick in so it sounds more Alt Rock again. Lyrically…I actually have no clue. It could be a simple little high school age song about a hook up or potential hook up that was fun for the time but went nowhere. Its a decent little Alt Rock song though. Sčičudᶻ(a narrow place) is a haunting little song about realizing the person is missing something, but finding the love and acceptance when she’s dancing. Could somehow tie back to Fancy Dance, since the dancing concept is present…but that’s potentially a stretch.

Treeline has the nice pounding Pow Wow drums for the duration of the song. Musically it has moments of feeling like a spiraling expanse of open meadow into a thicket. Lyrically it feels like a song of regret and trying to push down memories or bad omens. This song has a lot of potential directions it can go, and its very interesting, especially with the occasional flute moments to give off a forested feeling. Just interesting imagery lyrically and musically. Understanding has four lines of lyrics, but the words are probably something most people can relate to; “I know it’s wrong to love everyone but myself but, Sometimes I can’t even hold me, Sometimes I can’t even find time for myself yet, Here I am understanding”. It starts off contemplative and then erupts into that 90s Alt Rock sound that the Northwest is known for. Spaces hits with the dreamwave mixed with Native American chanting. It seems to be a somewhat positive or upbeat song, but is once again lyrically sparse so I just mostly let the music take me on the trip. Don’t Give Up almost gives me Liz Phair vibes, but generally speaking, this is a beautiful way to end the album. It talks about growth, finding ways to heal, and no longer giving up. It even has a line of, “I was only seventeen, I was only seventy”, so to me that evokes the idea of your never too old or young to grow, heal and move forward.

This was definitely an Indie Rock smorgasbord of throw back sounds and contextual emotions. I can also say, there isn’t a ton folk sounding elements; so this should be easier for the general public to consume. Some of the songs felt a little too sparse lyrically, but the musical arrangements were almost always painting a picture either emotionally or with natural settings.

I was happily surprised with how this all came together. Its a very easy listen and lyrics that can make you think, even a few that give a little insight into Native American mythology. Very good album, definitely a niche sound and very Indie, but I dug it more than I expected.

Final Judgment: 7.3/10