Review Summary: Soundtrack for a rainy afternoon
Mount Moriah is Heather McEntire (Bellafeau) and Jenks Miller (Horseback). Because I really like Horseback I checked out this record, only to find out this has nothing to do with the doom of The Invisible Mountain or the soundscapes of Impale Golden Horn. But after countless spins this turned out to be a gem of the same quality. I say countless spins because I couldn’t get into it the first few times I listened to it.
Mount Moriah is a band that walks the crossroad between pop, americana, country and folk. Crafting beautiful slow- and mid tempo songs that take the best elements of all these genres. Every song creates its own mood, but because of the, in general, slower tempo of the songs, I sometimes found it hard to get into that mood. A lot of which had to do with the voice of their singer.
Heather McEntire has a beautiful voice and even though it isn’t the most versatile, it is one that fits this style of music like a glove. At times country, at times more like Sheryl Crow with a cold, but always on top of her game. But because she hasn’t got the most versatile voice I found the slower songs to drag a bit the first few times I played this record. But once I got into that ‘it’s a rainy afternoon and I have nothing to do’ mood, this record turned out to be a relaxing and soothing experience. An experience that features great songs like ‘Only Way Out’ and ‘Old Gowns’.
So don’t expect banging drums and distorted guitars. Piano, pedal steel, banjo, violin, acoustics and slide guitar is what this record is made of. A great sounding record by the way. Good production, all instruments mixed perfectly and all instruments are allowed to shine at the right moments. Mount Moriah is a record that has ‘a soundtrack for a rainy afternoon’ written all over it.
