The Needle Drop

house shape

Mount Eerie- Clear Moon

Reviewsadmin1 Comment

On Mount Eerie's latest effort, Phil Elverum managest to transform is usual sounds and emotions into a repetitive, drone-y, and sometimes ambient musical experience. Mostly, it's beautiful, but a few moments felt a bit overlong to me. Plus, despite being well over 40 minutes, I didn't come away from this album feeling completely satisfied with the songs and material I was dealt. Still, it's a very solid album. Phil keeps the sounds of Mount Eerie potent, strange, and emotionally affecting while changing things up enough to keep his musical trajectory interesting for longtime fans.

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Mount Eerie- "To the Ground"

New TracksGWHTCBComment

It was just over a week ago that former Microphones frontman Phil Elverum announced the release of two new albums this year under his Mount Eerie project, but the prolific singer-songwriter hasn't stopped there. Elverum has also revealed a new single entitled "To the Ground" that will precede the two LPs. The 7" features collaborations with Nicholas Krgovich of P:ano, Gigi, and No Kids, the latter with whom Elverum released a split a few years back. The title track, which you can stream above, will be accompanied by another song titled "The Mouth of Sky (M.I.D.I. Strings)."

The track fortunately does not disappoint. Elverum sports what I consider to be one of his strongest melodies in recent memory, which is enhanced by reinforcement from what I assume are Krgovich's background vocals. The song is further supported by effective choices in instrumentation, pulling together a combination of electronic and acoustic percussion to create a memorable set of rhythms. It's an assuring testament to Elverum's consistency as a songwriter, and it truly has my mouth watering for the two Mount Eerie albums that will be dropping later in the year.

Look for the 7" on April 10 via Atelier Ciseaux, and if you're looking to get a physical copy, be sure to snag one before its 300 copies run out.

Mount Eerie- "House Shape"

New Tracksadmin1 Comment

Mount Eerie is not just releasing one, but two albums this year. Between this and the two albums Death Grips is releasing this year, I might explode. Keep fragile things and the faint of heart away from me. The sheer force of this explosion might harm others.

Anyway, the last time we heard from Mount Eerie's frontman, Phil Elverum, on a scale this large, it was when the project released Wind's Poem in 2009. While the album wasn't an accurate picture of Elverum's trademark sound--mostly because Wind's incorporated a surprising amount of black metal elements in its tracks--the album still went on to muster quite a bit of attention inside and outside Mount Eerie's fan base.

The first album Mount Eerie is scheduled to release this year is titled Clear Moon, and "House Shape" is the first track to be released from it. The song hangs in familiar lo-fi territory, keeping the sounds quiet. However, the music still adds up to something unsettling. When everything finally kicks into gear around 1:50, the numerous layers of acoustic guitar, organ, and drums create a swampy drone. It's a blinding fog of subtle dissonance and otherworldly textures. It's the sound of isolation. It's the sound of the natural world reclaiming what's been taken away.

Look for Clear Moon on May 22nd through Elverum's own P.W. Elverum and Sun.