• Reviews

• All
• Music
• DVDs
• Live
• Cinema
• TV
• Books
• Comic Books
• Video Games

Feb 19, 2015 Mount Eerie By Mack Hayden

Phil Elverum just can’t stop recording music and his latest album as Mount Eerie, Sauna, is proof we should be thankful for that. He’s been doing indie folk since before it was even a thing. He’s of the same graduating class as Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Jeff Mangum, Songs: Ohia, and Sun Kil Moon. That’s to say he’s been doing this longer than Sufjan Stevens, Iron & Wine, and so forth but still manages to sound just as fresh as any of them. We’ll just agree to forget about the folk that’s been coming out ever since 2012 or so.

The latest collection of Elverum delicacies is three years in the making. Given how prolific he’s been over the years, the wait’s pretty understandable. There are 12 songs here and most every one of them is mellow, even hushed. Making music like that is like walking a tightrope. It’s pretty easy to make pleasant sounding folk music but you run a high risk of sedating your listener. Elverum luckily doesn’t need much more than acoustic instrumentation to keep you up and listening. Admittedly, when songs drag out to around 10 minutes, it’s pretty hard to maintain a listener’s attention unless it’s a movement in a symphony. So even if your thought process drifts a bit during the opening title track or the nearly 15 minute “Spring,” you’ve got to give Elverum credit for being ambitious without coming across as pretentious or arrogant.

The shorter tracks are just as enjoyable, even if a little less sweeping in their execution. No song on Sauna is going to make you sweat but every one will relax you and coax you into letting your worries seep on out of you. Like all his work, this record is a peaceful exorcism. It’s as personal to Elverum as it can be to you. (www.pwelverumandson.com)

Author rating: 6.5/10