Mount Eerie - Ocean Roar (Album Review)

 

Mount Eerie - Ocean Roar

(2012)


My copy: 2012 pressing by P.W. Elverum & Sun.


It’s clear immediately with the density of the guitar work on “Pale Lights” that Ocean Roar is meant to be one of Phil Elverum’s heavier experiments, perhaps more akin to his earlier work as The Microphones. Bright synth serves as a lighthouse amidst the angry sea of clanging guitars and propulsive drumming that breaks from steadiness to slam in unison. Elverum messes with mixing and dynamics on the intro track which is also the longest song, with instrumentals fading but never quite disappearing as he whispers over quaint kalimba melodies. The drums are ever present on “Pale Lights” but they dim and brighten in the second half while organ tones and guitars wail over top. 

“Ocean Roar” is the most breathable track with a beautiful female vocal performance that harmonizes with Elverum’s vocals over twinkling guitar. A strange sample of children and applause breaks the immersion at the end of “Ocean Roar” but the sounds continue into “Ancient Times” which manipulates and distorts the childish sounds into a mesh of voices with piano melody and poetry. “Instrumental #1” plays contemplative asian scales on piano and woodwind before adding droned guitar and distorted drums, then ending on fluttered piano and dark ambient tones. 

“Waves” is the most ethereal song, and has Elverum borrowing from shoegaze and even black metal to amass walls of ripping tremolo and tense drums. “Waves” is an impenetrable fortress of sound until the tension snaps for the vocals to come in, and feedback whines before the song becomes a wave of intensity again. “Engel Der Luft (Popol Vuh)” is a cover, unsurprisingly, of a Popol Vuh song which features an insanely noisy lo-fi take on an otherwise psychedelic meditation. 

“I Walked Home Beholding” brings closure to the conceptual component of the album as Elverum describes the aftermath of a great storm over dramatic synths and smooth snapping. “Instrumental #2” is more loud tremolo guitar but by now it’s grown tired and the nearly seven minute runtime is unjustified.

Ocean Roar is a really great change of pace from Mount Eerie’s primarily acoustic venture, and it is a well produced attempt at the textural density of heavier rock genres. Unfortunately, some ideas just grow stale towards the end, but Ocean Roar is recommended for those who dislike the stripped down, emotional side of Mount Eerie. 

Phil still stocks this album on his website.


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