For their third album proper (but first for Thrill Jockey), Mountains build upon a palette of drone, acoustic instrumentation, and a knack for delicate expression.
Starting an album with a 12 minute expanse may seem confrontational – it’s certainly unsafe radio territory – but, it’s the ideal way to acquaint yourself with the mesmeric patterns of Mountains. Title track ‘Choral’ is wholly befitting its namesake; the melody bubbles up from underneath the layers of drone, with a distinct lightness to the entire song’s construction. A little further in, sounds resembling voices fill the remaining space like light spreading through a cavernous bunker. A woozy, hazy introduction to the work of Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp, then.
Further in, you start to hear sentiments from Robin Guthrie, Fennesz, Susumu Yokota seeping through – sentiment more so than actual sounds, per se, as the languid 50 minute journey unfolds. ‘Add Infinity’ wraps fuzz and gentle feedback around itself, curiously sitting between two softer moments.
Synthetic is a phrase that doesn’t bear mentioning in the Mountains world, really. Pinpointing a particular machine sound or programmed loop is difficult. Mountains have this very clever way of introducing elements in and out of the mix so surreptitiously which makes you feel as if everything is there because it simply is, not because it’s been deliberately placed.
There is a tremendous sense of warmth here, beyond any particular descriptor. Mountains have achieved a rarity – ambient, drone-based composition that is instantly accessible as it is complex upon repeated listens.
