Freebutt, 7 April 2010

Mount Eerie’s Phil Elverum cuts an extremely awkward figure. Halfway between computer game shop nerd and speed dating nerd, Elverum is flanked by a duo of keyboard players and backed by two drummers. Baggy shirted and slightly receding, the singer shuffles forward towards the microphone with a slightly stunned and perplexed look across his face before softly welcoming the audience and enquiring how they are. It is an unintended comedic moment causing a few chuckles among the audience.

After beginning the set by smashing together drop tuned chords and feedback as an intro, Mount Eerie’s tunes veer between beasty, tom drum heavy feedback-garbled noise, weighty doom-influenced riffs and delicate introspective ambience. It’s the latter that proves most compelling. Whilst the heavier and more abrasive moments seem a tad clumsy, when they give way to Vangelis and Brian Eno inspired synthesised soundscapes such as the beautiful and haunting ‘Through The Trees’ eyes are agog. The sonic proceedings onstage conjour up a beautiful and dream like atmosphere in the room. It’s stunning.

A further gem is uncovered in the form of the supremely self-aware ‘My Heart Is Not At Peace’ with front man Elverum breathing out the lines “I was writhing in the tomb, my heart a frozen boulder” like they’re his last dying words. It causes the skin to crawl in a strangely enjoyable way.

A solid seven years into their existence, Mount Eerie seem to be a band that are content to have their fingers in a great number of proverbial musical pies – a slight shame given that they have a stunning knack for creating gorgeous ambience which surpasses their other sonic experiments. Solid without being flawless.

Words by Chris Shipman
myspace.com/mounteerieorthemicrophones

What did you think of the gig?

Luke: 7/10 “I though they were good though the vocals were occasionally lost.”

Natalie Christoforou: 6/10 “Not really my thing, I though they were a bit boring.”

Laurie Stanhope: 7/10 “I really liked the chilled out bits, the heavy bits less so.”

Rachael Norman: 8/10 “Not bad at all, ‘Wind’s Poem’ is a great album.”

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