Dense, haunting, truly frigid shoegaze rock. Phil Elverum, formerly of the Microphones, took a long break from civilization and lived as a hermit in Norway for a few months. Since then, he’s had a bit of a taste for black metal. The influence draws from the more ethereal aspects of the genre—think Wolves in the Throne Room, Burzum, even Nadja in terms of the ambitious post-rockish dynamics. Mount Eerie’s sound attracts a mostly short-haired crowd, but I suspect the intensity of some of these latest songs may start to change that. Vocally, however, this is still on the lush, dreamy side of things that Elverum is known for. It’s intended to be the darker counterpart to the earlier release Clear Moon, but the heaviness is very much restrained, even when it gets “epic,” so much of the album will fit on an indie rock show just as well as it would on a shoegaze/psych rock/metal set. Plenty of blissed-out, melancholy (without being mopey) moments. The instrumentals are gorgeous and drone-like in very different ways.
FCC clean. RIYL Alcest, Mogwai, Sigur Ros

1. **(9:59)Epic explosion of harmonized power chords, numbing in its monotony, gets restrained when the vocals come in briefly. Definitely the album highlight.
2. (2:47) Short brooding piece, soft and dreamy and pessimistic in tonality. Hypnotic cymbal patterns, distant background female crooning.
3. (1:11) brief ambient interlude—samples distant car engines, broken piano, wailing babies.
4. *(5:32) majestic, foreboding instrumental recalls Mogwai at their most neoclassical, or like a post-rock version of A Winged Victory For The Sullen.
5. *(4:57) after 15 seconds of near-silence (watch out for dead air!), massive chords emerge, propelled by a steady beat that slowly fades away, engulfed by the sheer enormity of the guitar tones. Instrumental, reminiscent of Wolves In The Throne Room at their most grandiose.
6. (3:15) A rough, metallic, but somehow somnambulant and soothing cover of a Popol Vuh song.
7. *(4:05) a light, gentle plodding lullaby, the only instruments being synth, drums and snapping fingers. Elverum croons in his clear comforting warble, redeeming our lonely suffering with sheer beauty. Indie rockers, this track is perfect for you if you want to stay in your comfort zone.
8. (6:58) a more ambitious metal instrumental, almost stoner-rock levels of lethargic energy but still black-metal in its harmonic palette.