Single Review: Mount Eerie-To the Ground 7"

It's wonderful see Phil Elverum fill his recent quiet spell with such a sudden prolific burst. Not only one, but two new Mount Eerie albums will come out this year to the excite of anyone with good taste in music. On top of that, Mount Eerie just put out a new single for French label Atelier Ciseaux as well. Hurrah!

If everything that was Wind's Poem was catharsis for Mount Eerie, then his new material is him trying to do something that is just the opposite. As if Mount Eerie was using this single as some commentary on "chill" or "relaxed" music. Case in point with "To the Ground". With the bongos and sharp, awkward electronics beeps through out, in anyone else's hands this track could have become something much cheesier than it actually is. Instead Elverum is manages to fill the song with tension and slight dread with his vocals and inorganic drum work, despite the backdrop they are working against. It's actually a masterful track, building and dropping to keep the feel of the song constant and powerful. On the flip side is the well flip side of this commentary, a reworking of "The Mouth of Sky" from Wind's Poems. Though one would never guess that it was the same song listening to it here, as it has shed all of it's black metal heaviness and morphed into something filled with sad violins and an auto tuned Elverum. It's slightly surreal to know that is a Mount Eerie track, but placed with the single, it makes more sense every time you listen to it.

Mount Eerie's material tends to get gobbled up quickly by his fans, and with only 300 copies, this 7" won't last long either. Hopefully it will be rereleased in the future because this a wonderful, quiet addition to Mount Eerie's discography.



Links:

Mount Eerie's Website
Buy the To the Ground 7" here, from Atelier Ciseaux