As the year begins to wind down, Hudson County’s music scene continues to impress with both its diversity and talent.

Black Wail's "Dead Mountain."

Jersey City’s Black Wail formed in 2014 after the demise of local favorite Thomas Francis Takes His Chances, when guitarist/drummer Michael Tarlazzi decided to front his own group playing the unique mix of punk, metal, stoner rock, and psychedelia he’d been hearing in his head. He recruited bassist Susan Lutin to demo his embryonic compositions, and seven years later, we’ve been gifted with Black Wail’s fifth EP, “Dead Mountain,” on Hoboken’s Rhyme & Reason Records.

The band worked with engineer Mike Mobius (who also produced the band’s debut EP) at his Jersey City studio, Moonlight Mile Recording, for this, Black Wail’s second release in 2021.

The first, “Born on Fire,” came out in April, but had been recorded a year earlier before the COVID pandemic put everything – including local music – on hold. The same lineup -- keyboardist Bram Teitelman, guitarist Ed Charreun and drummer Felipe Torres, along with Tarlazzi and Lutin – recorded both EPs.

Like its predecessor, “Dead Mountain” offers convenient one-stop shopping for headbangers, with 25 minutes of technically impressive and stylistically inventive hard rock spread over four tracks.

The opening “Staring at the Sun” epitomizes the EP’s eclectic attack, starting with chugging metal riffs and a languid Black Sabbath-type vocal melody then segueing into an extended psychedelic bridge before building to a powerful, pounding climax with a shredding guitar solo.

The eight minute-plus title track offers an unprecedented guitar duel, with Tarlazzi and Charreun trading stoner-rock riffs; the short, Ozzy Osbourne-inspired vocal barely makes an impression amid the sturm und drang of the bludgeoning guitars, as Lutin and Torres lay down a heavy bottom end. “Hot Seat 2020″ revisits a live staple originally recorded on Black Wail’s second EP, “All You Can Eat,” with an arch, Zappa-esque vocal delivery and a slow, sludgy tempo that allows Charreun and Tarlazzi ample space to shred.

“The Frigate” ends the EP with an epic if surreal tale of sailors who meet their doom on the high seas, with Tarlazzi narrating as the ship slowly capsizes. Galloping riffs add drama as we’re left to imagine the seamen’s fate, on a track that’s both powerful and bone-chilling.

“Dead Mountain” is available for streaming or download at blackwail.bandcamp.com.

ROYAL BLUSH ROLLS THE DICE

For a different experience from another Jersey City-based act, check out “Roll the Dice,” the latest single from the Anglophilic Royal Blush. Local fans might have caught them when they portrayed Fleetwood Mac at this year’s Ghost of Uncle Joe’s Halloween fundraiser.

"Roll the Dice" by Jersey City-based Royal Blush

With the full-throated voice of Allison Heckart at the forefront, “Roll the Dice” offers a dizzying take on the lush, ethereal dream-pop of ‘90s stars like Mazzy Star, My Bloody Valentine, or Lush – bands that set a sonic template since embraced by contemporary hitmakers like Lana Del Rey and Beach House. Andrew Merclean, credited with “guitars and sonics,” provides layers of sound pierced by staccato guitar notes as a lush bed for Heckart’s vocals. The song – introduced by local scenester Chris Gennone of C.R. & The Degenerates with a line about going for broke in Vegas – uses the familiar trope of “rolling the dice” at a casino as a metaphor for taking risks in real life. But there’s nothing cliched about the track, which bristles with electricity and ends far too soon.

Merclean produced and recorded the track, presumably at a home studio, although additional tracking was done at the Cocoon by engineer Corey Zack. Matt Quinones on bass and Josh Barsch on drums complete the lineup. (Gennone joined the group full-time after this single had been written and recorded.)

“Roll The Dice” is available for streaming or download at royalblushhhh.bandcamp.com.

The refurbished back room at Finnegan’s Pub, 734 Willow Ave., Hoboken, is the closest that the Mile Square City has come to a real venue for live music since the demise of Maxwell’s.

Finnegan’s has been offering a steady diet of local bands on weekends, like Face For Radio, the Nicke Conte Trio, and Joe Taino in November.

Mike Kuzan and The Latest Noise Collective have a “wellness” event planned for Sunday, Dec. 12, with Chaya Morgan of Glaser Drive and Nicole Sullivan.

The Latest Noise will also host a “New Year’s Eve Eve” bash at Finnegan’s on Thursday, Dec. 30.

For more upcoming events, follow Finnegan’s Pub at @finneganshoboken on Instagram.

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