Mt. Egypt / Battering the Hatches
Album: Battering the Hatches   Collection:General
Artist:Mt. Egypt   Added:Jan 2005
Label:Record Collection  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2005-02-27 Pull Date: 2005-05-01
Week Ending: Apr 10 Mar 20 Mar 13
Airplays: 1 1 1

Recent Airplay
1. Nov 18, 2005: Biff Bang Pow
Battering the Hatches
3. Mar 17, 2005: Strange Attractor
New Song
2. Apr 03, 2005: Strange Attractor
Love What You Can
4. Mar 10, 2005: I once was Canadian
Just Because

Album Review
Connie
Reviewed 2005-02-16
Mt. Egypt is Travis Graves, who at one time was a professional skateboarder. I actually first heard of him when a friend showed me an interview he did with Skateboarder Magazine--­a skateboarder who listens to Will Oldham and Jason Molina--­hot. With those references the sound here is obviously folky; acoustic guitars and random, mussing lyrics about falling in/out of love and leaving/coming home. Songs sometimes have an unfinished quality but it also contributes to the overall "modesty" of the album, in spite of the sometimes grandiose lyrics. There's a comforting quality to Graves' voice. He's far from eliciting the type of response that Oldham or Molina do, but this debut still offers beautiful, moody songs.

1. Lyrics are a little weak here, but sets up the world weary mood of the album.
**2. A hauntingly romantic song with beautiful layered vocals.
3. Vocals are a little too subdued; kind of half-written.
4. A song about coming home to true love.
5. Neat breathy echoing. A song about forgiving a woman that broke his heart.
**6. Layered vocals again give a fuller sound. Some heavy handed lyrics but delivered without being overly earnest. Features organ and piano.
7. Good finger-picking guitars. Sort of an over the top delivery to this song.
8. Almost all piano here, but it sounds "distant."
9. Trumpets and tambourines keep this "punchy." Some female vocals. This song has me convinced that he sometimes writes as if he was a sailor.
10. More female vocals. A song about falling out of love...some strangely funny lyrics like "I am not an animal and I don't need to mate."
**11. Energetic singing that breaks out into little shouts. Kind of a duet, although the female vocals are overpowered.
**12. Possible FCCs: "get laid" and "let’s make love," pretty mellow love song.
13. Some accordion, and quite literally a song for his mother.
14. Ends at about 2:30, but a quite good a cappella track starts in at about 3:32.

Track Listing
1. Battering the Hatches   8. Walnut Creek
2. S.A.Z.   9. Strange Sad Air
3. Song of Desperation   10. Chocolate Hearts
4. Nyc...   11. New Song
5. Say Alright   12. Love What You Can
6. Just Because   13. Song for My Mother
7. Haunting   14. The Pirate Song