Mount Eerie | ||
| Allmusic Biography : As Mount Eerie, Washington state songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer Phil Elverum expands on the searching and deeply personal feel of his work with the Microphones. On albums such as 2009s Winds Poem and 2017s widely acclaimed A Crow Looked at Me, which documented the aftermath of his wife Geneviève Castrées death from pancreatic cancer, he combines elements of ambient music, folk, and black metal with confessional lyrics that immerse listeners in his world. When Elverum ended the Microphones with the release of the 2003 album Mount Eerie, he adopted its title as the name of his next project. He founded the label P.W. Elverum & Sun Ltd., releasing a pair of CD-Rs, Seven New Songs of Mt. Eerie and Mt. Eerie Dances with Wolves/Wolf Mountain Howls in the World in 2004 before Mount Eeries debut album, No Flashlight, became the first official Mount Eerie release in 2005. A CD/LP set with a poster that holds the record for the worlds largest album cover, No Flashlight set the tone for Mount Eeries prolific and intricately packaged releases. They included The Drums from No Flashlight, Singers (which featured different vocalists singing Elverums songs), and the electronic-tinged 11 Old Songs of Mount Eerie, all of which also arrived in 2005. Mount Eerie, Pts. 6-7, a picture disc and book of photographs, and the Latitudes Series Black Wooden EP were issued in 2007. The following year, the Black Wooden Ceiling Opening EP introduced Elverums concept of playing "black metal with natural materials." Later in 2008, Elverum collaborated with Erics Trip and Broken Girl singer Julie Doiron and guitarist Fred Squire on Lost Wisdom. Dawn, a journal/CD set written during Elverums stay in Norway in late 2002/early 2003, arrived in spring 2009, while a full-length of new material, the ambient and black metal-inspired Winds Poem, was released that summer. Elverum maintained the flurry of activity with White Stag, a CD-R recorded in Portland, Oregon, and 2010s singles compilation Song Islands, Vol. 2. Mount Eerie resurfaced in 2012 with a two-album concept project: Clear Moon, which was recorded in a de-sanctified church, arrived in May, while Ocean Roar followed that September. Live in Bloomington, September 30th, 2011, which featured radically reworked versions of Winds Poem and Clear Moon songs, arrived in mid-2013. Elverum released another set of versions of these songs with Pre-Human Ideas in November of that year. In 2014, he debuted new material on tour that became 2015s Sauna, a largely contemplative album about "Vikings and Zen and real life." That year, Elverum and his wife, musician/illustrator Geneviève Castrée of Woelv and Ô Paon, discovered that Castrée had stage-four pancreatic cancer after giving birth to their daughter. Castrée died in July 2016, and two months later, Elverum began writing and recording songs in her work space with her instruments. The results were 2017s A Crow Looked at Me, a sparse, cathartic set inspired by his time with Castrée as well as her death. Elverum followed it with 2018s Now Only, which also reflected the impact of her death on his life and his daughters. The live album (After), which captured Elverums 2017 performance of A Crow Looked at Me and Now Only songs for the Dutch experimental music festival Le Guess Who? at a 13th century Gothic church, appeared in September 2018. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 23 Title: Live in Copenhagen Released: 2004 Tracks: 36 Duration: 1:55:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Introduction (02:49) 2 Wooly Mammoths Mighty Absence (04:58) 3 Say "Goodbye" and "No" (03:01) 4 仔猫カレンダー (04:23) 5 Climb Over (03:36) 6 Great Ghosts (03:50) 7 See Me (02:58) 8 A Show of Hands (03:47) 9 Who? (02:43) 10 O Little Heart (02:42) 11 Its Not the Hunting (03:52) 12 Moon Sequel (04:09) 1 Cold Mountain (03:35) 2 I Will Be Good (03:15) 3 We Know There Are (03:04) 4 I Cut My Hands Off (04:34) 5 Solar System (07:02) 6 Silent Night (00:59) 7 I Have Been Told That My Skin Is Exceptionally Smooth (03:12) 8 Ill Not Contain You (03:51) 9 Log in the Waves (03:25) 10 We Squirm (01:50) 11 Get the Hell Out of the Way of the Volcano (02:54) 12 Headless Horseman, Part 2 (02:07) 13 Moon, I Already Know (01:59) 14 I Felt Your Shape (03:08) 15 After N. Young (00:57) 1 The Dead of Night (03:41) 2 Thanksgiving (02:52) 3 Lanterns (03:20) 4 Youll Be in the Air (02:55) 5 Voice in Headphones (03:20) 6 The Blow, Part 2 (01:53) 7 Ill Shut Up (02:06) 8 I Say "No" (04:24) 9 The Boom (02:19) |
 | Album: 2 of 23 Title: Seven New Songs of Mount Eerie Released: 2004 Tracks: 7 Duration: 24:19 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Wooly Mammoths Absence (04:46) 2 Do Not Be Afraid (00:54) 3 With My Hands Out (03:32) 4 2 Blonde Braids (03:40) 5 My Burning (02:41) 6 November 22nd 2003, 4:45 PM (06:18) 7 Cold Mountain Song 286 (02:25) |
 | Album: 3 of 23 Title: Singers Released: 2005 Tracks: 9 Duration: 30:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Lets Get Out of the Romance (05:45) 2 Ut Oh! Its Mourning Time Again (04:07) 3 Do Not Be Afraid (01:30) 4 Where Is My Tarp? (03:11) 5 I Cut My Hands Off (03:28) 6 So Your Big Black Cloud Will Come (01:11) 7 Human (05:09) 8 Ill Shut Up (01:20) 9 I Cant Believe You Actually Died (04:55) |
 | Album: 4 of 23 Title: No Flashlight: Songs of the Fulfilled Night Released: 2005-08-16 Tracks: 15 Duration: 37:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 I Know No One (02:32) 2 I Hold Nothing (05:00) 3 The Moan (02:53) 4 In the Bats Mouth (01:33) 5 No Inside, No Out (01:52) 6 (2 Lakes) (01:09) 7 Stop Singing (03:02) 8 No Flashlight (03:04) 9 (2 Mountains) (01:19) 10 The Air in the Morning (03:02) 11 The Universe Is Shown (01:54) 12 What? (02:57) 13 How? (02:24) 14 No Flashlight (03:54) 15 (2 Moons) (01:07) |
 | Album: 5 of 23 Title: Eleven Old Songs of Mount Eerie Released: 2005-12-06 Tracks: 11 Duration: 34:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Cold Mountain (03:05) 2 I Say "No" (03:34) 3 The Boom / (Wind) (05:59) 4 The Dead of Night (04:12) 5 Wooly Mammoths Mighty Absence (03:09) 6 Great Ghosts (03:36) 7 Log in the Waves (02:20) 8 I Love (It) So Much (01:23) 9 Goodbye Hope (02:15) 10 Who? (02:25) 11 See Me (02:12) |
 | Album: 6 of 23 Title: the LAST HIT (soundtrack) Released: 2005-12-31 Tracks: 9 Duration: 16:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 I (02:46) 2 II (02:45) 3 III (01:53) 4 IV (00:50) 5 V (00:42) 6 VI (01:06) 7 VII (02:04) 8 VIII (03:37) 9 IX (01:12) |
 | Album: 7 of 23 Title: Black Wooden Ceiling Opening Released: 2008-03-04 Tracks: 17 Duration: 58:37 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Appetite (04:13) 2 Domesticated Dog (02:09) 3 In Moonlight (04:25) 4 Blue Light on the Floor (02:24) 5 Dont Smoke (02:52) 6 Stop Singing (05:33) 7 Intro (01:11) 8 Appetite (04:37) 9 Domesticated Dog (02:22) 10 Dont Smoke (03:34) 11 Stop Singing (05:28) 12 In Moonlight (04:50) 13 The Universe Is Shown (02:58) 14 No Inside, No Out (02:19) 15 Uncertainty (02:14) 16 The Moan (02:26) 17 Blue Light on the Floor (04:55) |
 | Album: 8 of 23 Title: Lost Wisdom Released: 2008-10-07 Tracks: 10 Duration: 23:09 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Lost Wisdom (04:14) 2 Voice in Headphones (02:15) 3 You Swan, Go On (01:24) 4 Who? (02:23) 5 Flaming Home (02:28) 6 What? (02:06) 7 If We Knew... (01:37) 8 With My Hands Out (01:38) 9 O My Heart (03:17) 10 Grave Robbers (01:47) |
| Lost Wisdom : Allmusic album Review : The searching, noisy-then-delicate music of Erics Trip had a big impact on Phil Elverums work in the Microphones and Mount Eerie, so this collaboration with Erics Trip and Broken Girl singer Julie Doiron and guitarist Fred Squire is inspired, if only because it makes the connection between Elverum and Doirons music even stronger. Though Lost Wisdom came together during some downtime for the three musicians, its simplicity and immediacy sound intimate instead of tossed off. This is the spare, somber, introspective side of Mount Eerie, with just the barest hints of Squires guitar adorning Elverum and Doirons voices. Doirons singing, both with Erics Trip and Broken Girl, has always been uniquely lovely and vulnerable, and Elverum uses her as perfectly as he has Mirah, the Blows Khaela Maricich, and Woelvs Geneviève Castrée on other projects. He and Doiron sound completely natural yet haunting trading verses and harmonies on "Lost Wisdom" and "Grave Robbers" -- both of their voices, and the music that surrounds them, have a deceptively fragile urgency that barely rises above a whisper for most of the album. Even the albums loudest moment, "Voice in Headphones" (which, along with "What?," could pass for one of the bonus tracks on the deluxe version of the Microphones The Glow, Pt. 2), still fits with the rest of Lost Wisdoms delicacy and directness. That simplicity applies to Elverums songwriting as well; his imagery becomes more tangible with the years, getting to deeper truths about love, death, and rebirth without getting too tangled in words: it doesnt get much more direct than "You Swan Go On"s "With your hand down my throat/You held on to my heart/And pumped the blood through." "If We Knew..." is a sweet song about aging, love, and marriage that doesnt sound sappy, while a warm glow turns into a destructive fire on "Flaming Home." Mount Eerie take many forms and sounds, showing how comfortable Elverum is with just a room and a guitar or a large cast of players performing his songs; Lost Wisdom is a small-scale gem that shows off his (and Doirons) gifts to their finest. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 23 Title: Dawn Released: 2008-11-01 Tracks: 19 Duration: 41:47 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 It Wasnt the Hunting (02:49) 2 Cold Mountain (02:48) 3 Moon Sequel (02:29) 4 I Have Been Told That My Skin Is Exceptionally Smooth (01:32) 5 I Say "No" (02:05) 6 Moon, I Already Know (01:20) 7 With My Hands Out (01:42) 8 A Show of Hands (01:46) 9 Wooly Mammoths Mighty Absence (03:23) 10 My Burning (01:39) 11 Great Ghosts (03:06) 12 Climb Over (02:37) 13 We Squirm (01:28) 14 Voice in Headphones (01:51) 15 Who? (02:11) 16 Dead of Night (02:43) 17 See Me (01:57) 18 Log in the Waves (01:57) 19 Goodbye Hope (02:24) |
 | Album: 10 of 23 Title: White Stag Released: 2009-05-05 Tracks: 10 Duration: 19:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 (Calling) (00:31) 2 Origin (02:08) 3 (Basement Instrument) (02:49) 4 Mud Grave (01:49) 5 Sighing (01:53) 6 (Summoning) (02:17) 7 Quiet Echoes (02:19) 8 Hunting (01:40) 9 (3rd Floor instrumental) (01:45) 10 Wasted Wealth (02:01) |
 | Album: 11 of 23 Title: Wind’s Poem Released: 2009-07-14 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:09:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Wind’s Dark Poem (04:12) 2 Through the Trees (11:33) 3 My Heart Is Not at Peace (03:17) 4 The Hidden Stone (03:46) 5 Wind Speaks (03:46) 6 Summons (02:51) 7 The Mouth of Sky (04:46) 8 Between Two Mysteries (04:18) 9 Ancient Questions (03:24) 10 (something) (02:22) 11 Lost Wisdom, Part 2 (05:04) 12 Stone’s Ode (05:26) 13 (Wind Lyrics) (05:10) 14 Summons (acoustic) (02:23) 15 Lost Wisdom (06:44) |
| Wind’s Poem : Allmusic album Review : A title like Winds Poem suggests fleeting delicacy, but theres far more to these songs than that. If this double-album sprawl really was a poem, it would be more epic than haiku, combining Phil Elverums musings on erosion and mortality with sounds that touch on ambient black metal, field recordings, and David Lynch soundtracks. Elverum has been fascinated with these motifs for some time -- "I Want Wind to Blow" and "Youll Be in the Air" are two of the finest songs on the Microphones The Glow, Pt. 2, Mount Eerie was a meditation on death and spirituality, and Black Wooden Ceiling Opening documented his first flirtations with metal -- but Winds Poem is still some of the most impressive music Elverum has recorded under any of his aliases. The album captures the, well, eerie sounds of wind powering through the air like an emotion, spanning wistful breezes and raging three-day blows. The opening track, "Winds Dark Poem," is definitely the latter, rushing at listeners with gale-force distortion far bigger and heavier than anything on previous Elverum albums. The tornado whipping around him feels more akin to Jesu, Sunn 0))), or even ambient noise artists like Xela, yet its just as beautiful in its own intense way as his gentler songs are. Its an extreme way to begin Winds Poem, especially because Mount Eeries two prior albums, Lost Wisdom and Dawn, were almost painfully quiet. Not all of Winds Poem is this furious, although many of its noisiest tracks are among its highlights. "The Hidden Stone" actually uses its sound and fury as a buffer, making it just as intimate as any of Elverums whispery tracks; likewise, "Lost Wisdom, Pt. 2"s hypnotic drones pull listeners into the eye of the songs storm. He balances these outbursts with moments that are equally gentle, most strikingly on "Through the Trees," an 11-minute outsiders lullaby so slow it would be maddening if its warmth and subtle textural shifts werent so hypnotic. Elverums production touches complete the unique atmosphere, ranging from the finely chopped cymbals that top "Summons" guitar rumble to the layered depth that adds to "My Heart Is Not at Peace"s funereal desolation. Winds Poems second half boasts some of its most exciting experiments. Aided by No Kids Nick Krgovich, Elverum dives deeper into unusual pop than he has in some time, particularly on "Between Two Mysteries," which recasts the minor-key whoosh of "Laura Palmers Theme" from Angelo Badalamentis Twin Peaks soundtrack as the backdrop to gamelan-tinged percussion and sprightly guitars, and "Ancient Questions," the sparkling keyboards and guitars of which are like the clouds parting compared to some of the more blustery moments here. Winds Poem strikes a balance between accessibility and ambition that offers something for every kind of Elverum fan, but never sacrifices its purpose in the process. | ||
 | Album: 12 of 23 Title: Black Wooden Released: 2009-12 Tracks: 6 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Black Wooden (?) 2 The Bottomless Pit (?) 3 If We Knew (?) 4 Appetite (?) 5 Marriage (?) 6 Mount Eerie Revealed (version) (?) |
 | Album: 13 of 23 Title: Clear Moon / Ocean Roar Released: 2012 Tracks: 19 Duration: 1:20:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Through the Trees, Part 2 (05:50) 2 The Place Lives (02:42) 3 The Place I Live (05:58) 4 (Something) (01:31) 5 Lone Bell (04:15) 6 House Shape (04:03) 7 Over Dark Water (03:06) 8 (Something) (00:30) 9 Clear Moon (07:20) 10 Yawning Sky (03:28) 11 (Synthesizer) (02:59) 1 Pale Lights (09:59) 2 Ocean Roar (02:57) 3 Ancient Times (01:11) 4 Instrumental (05:32) 5 Waves (04:57) 6 Engel der Luft (03:15) 7 I Walked Home Beholding (04:05) 8 Instrumental (06:59) |
 | Album: 14 of 23 Title: To The Ground Released: 2012-04-10 Tracks: 2 Duration: 09:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 To The Ground (04:21) 2 Mouth of the Sky (MIDI strings) (04:55) |
 | Album: 15 of 23 Title: Clear Moon Released: 2012-05-22 Tracks: 11 Duration: 41:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Through the Trees, Part 2 (05:50) 2 The Place Lives (02:42) 3 The Place I Live (05:58) 4 (Something) (01:31) 5 Lone Bell (04:15) 6 House Shape (04:03) 7 Over Dark Water (03:06) 8 (Something) (00:30) 9 Clear Moon (07:20) 10 Yawning Sky (03:28) 11 (Synthesizer) (02:59) |
 | Album: 16 of 23 Title: Ocean Roar Released: 2012-09-04 Tracks: 8 Duration: 38:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Pale Lights (09:59) 2 Ocean Roar (02:57) 3 Ancient Times (01:11) 4 Instrumental (05:32) 5 Waves (04:57) 6 Engel der Luft (03:15) 7 I Walked Home Beholding (04:05) 8 Instrumental (06:59) |
 | Album: 17 of 23 Title: Live In Bloomington, September 30th, 2011 Released: 2013 Tracks: 11 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Introduction (?) 2 House Shape (?) 3 Between Two Mysteries (?) 4 Ancient Questions (?) 5 Karl Blau (?) 6 No Inside, No Out (?) 7 The Place I Live (?) 8 Lone Bell (?) 9 See Me (?) 10 Stones Ode (?) 11 The Place Lives (?) |
 | Album: 18 of 23 Title: Pre-Human Ideas Released: 2013-11-12 Tracks: 12 Duration: 41:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Organs (From Pale Lights) (06:00) 2 No Inside, No Out (Pre-Human Version) (01:51) 3 I Say "No" (Pre-Human Version) (03:30) 4 The Hidden Stone (Pre-Human Version) (02:57) 5 The Place Lives (Pre-Human Version) (02:44) 6 The Place I Live (Pre-Human Version) (03:49) 7 Lone Bell (Pre-Human Version) (04:11) 8 House Shape (Pre-Human Version) (04:21) 9 Clear Moon (Pre-Human Version) (02:56) 10 Yawning Sky (Pre-Human Version) (03:16) 11 Ocean Roar (Pre-Human Version) (02:52) 12 Organs (From the Place Lives) (02:38) |
 | Album: 19 of 23 Title: Sauna (bonus tracks) Released: 2015-02-03 Tracks: 4 Duration: 13:02 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Sauna (demo) (02:52) 2 Spring (demo) (04:10) 3 This (demo) (03:17) 4 Dragon (demo) (02:42) |
 | Album: 20 of 23 Title: Sauna Released: 2015-02-03 Tracks: 12 Duration: 55:09 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Sauna (10:00) 2 Turmoil (01:50) 3 Dragon (03:15) 4 Emptiness (03:23) 5 (Something) (02:16) 6 Boat (02:13) 7 Planets (01:24) 8 Pumpkin (05:12) 9 Spring (13:21) 10 Books (03:30) 11 This (03:18) 12 Youth (05:27) |
 | Album: 21 of 23 Title: A Crow Looked at Me Released: 2017-03-24 Tracks: 11 Duration: 41:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Real Death (02:26) 2 Seaweed (03:02) 3 Ravens (06:40) 4 Forest Fire (04:15) 5 Swims (04:06) 6 My Chasm (02:22) 7 When I Take Out the Garbage at Night (02:25) 8 Emptiness, Part 2 (03:29) 9 Toothbrush/Trash (03:52) 10 Soria Moria (06:33) 11 Crow (02:21) |
| A Crow Looked at Me : Allmusic album Review : Phil Elverum is so skilled at expressing spirituality and mortality in his work as Mount Eerie that its convenient to say hes unusually equipped to transform the loss of his wife, musician/writer/visual artist Geneviève Castrée, into something profound and beautiful. However, this is exactly what he doesnt do on A Crow Looked at Me. Arriving less than a year after her death from stage-four pancreatic cancer in July 2016, the album is an instinctive, reflexive reaction to the fact that the woman he loved and the mother of his child is dead. Elverum doesnt aspire to teach anyone else about death or love or coping. Instead, these messages to her and about her, loosely wrapped in music, are a way for him to be with her a little longer, and as he documents their life together and its end, he immerses listeners in his loss. Where Mount Eeries previous album, Sauna, was fittingly foggy and contemplative, A Crow Looked at Me is grounded in reality. Recorded in Castrées studio with her instruments, Elverum layers glowing acoustic guitars over a drum machine that hisses like a respirator as his thoughts pour out in forms too raw for verses or choruses as his mood ranges from painfully intimate to funny and, above all, loving. After describing spreading her ashes, Elverum sings "I dont think of that dust as you/You are the sunset." As Mount Eerie and with the Microphones, hes written enough about death in the abstract to make the difference on A Crow Looked at Me palpable. "Death Is Real" opens the album and winds through it like a mantra, with lyrics like "There is nothing to learn/Her absence is a scream" and "Conceptual emptiness was cool to talk about before I knew my way around these hospitals" providing a constant reminder. On these songs, Elverum doesnt aim for the heart so much as the gut -- its physically wrenching hearing him recount how he met Castrée, how he threw out the last of her trash after she died, and -- perhaps most cruelly -- how photographs began replacing his memories of her. His offhanded mentions of anguish ("the room I still dont go into at night") cut much deeper than a showier display of feeling, while his descriptions of his lingering loss ("what was you now borne across waves, evaporating") frequently manage to be harrowing and beautiful at the same time. As A Crow Looked at Me draws to a close, Elverum allows himself a little more distance and artistry, bringing his beloved black metal guitar back on "Sonia Moria" and addressing the final song, "Crow," to his daughter. Sharing his loss on A Crow Looked at Me doesnt diminish its impact at all -- even within Mount Eeries body of work, this is a remarkably powerful and pure album. | ||
 | Album: 22 of 23 Title: Now Only Released: 2018-03-16 Tracks: 6 Duration: 43:33 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Tintin in Tibet (04:37) 2 Distortion (10:58) 3 Now Only (05:54) 4 Earth (05:52) 5 Two Paintings by Nikolai Astrup (09:22) 6 Crow, Pt. 2 (06:50) |
 | Album: 23 of 23 Title: (after) Released: 2018-09-21 Tracks: 12 Duration: 58:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Real Death (02:50) 2 Seaweed (03:18) 3 Ravens (07:02) 4 When I Take Out the Garbage at Night (02:21) 5 Emptiness Pt. 2 (02:40) 6 Soria Moria (06:19) 7 Crow (02:19) 1 Distortion (11:11) 2 Now Only (05:57) 3 Crow Pt. 2 (07:09) 4 (Remarks) (00:36) 5 Tintin in Tibet (06:25) |