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Jan 03, 2025 Web Exclusive By Scotty Dransfield

Night Palace, Mount Eerie’s eleventh studio album and Phil Elverum’s first under that name since 2018’s Now Only, feels like a grand return to the wide-ranging and adventurous spirit of Elverum’s seminal 2001 classic as The Microphones, The Glow Pt. 2. Elverum has historically lived and made music in Anacortes, Washington, but his recent relocation to a slightly more remote spot on the San Juan Islands has clearly deepened his affinity for the natural world. He is the indie musician most in tune with nature—his songs breathe like the forest, settle like dew, swell like stormy waves. Whales sing to him, fish give him wisdom, and ravens mark the passage of time. More specifically, Elverum goes so far as to incorporate the sounds of wind, waves, and rain recorded near his home, creating a natural atmosphere that simply feels like being in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest.

Night Palace, now Mount Eerie’s longest album, is also shaped by Elverum’s experimentations with meditation over the last few years. Multiple tracks, such as the opening title track and the 12-minute penultimate journey “Demolition,” induce a contemplative state with long, drawn-out tones, occasionally punctuated by the extremely effective use of a single tap of what sounds like a wood block. These moments of formless and rhythmless punctuation float through the album, accentuating a feeling akin to weather or natural emergence.

At the same time, many of the 26 songs take an opposite approach, made up entirely of single elements like blasts of black-metal noise (“Swallowed Alive”) or short verses of poetry (“My Canopy,” “Blurred World”). The contrast in styles and song lengths works in the album’s favor and in a way makes this the definitive Mount Eerie album. At an hour and 21 minutes, Night Palace feels like it contains a wealth of deep, thought-provoking music and verse—enough to last many months, at least, of walks in the woods. It’s a resounding testament to Elverum’s unbreakable connection with nature and his singular creative vision. (www.pwelverumandsun.com)

Author rating: 8.5/10