Mount Eerie’s Ode To The Wind
November 8th, 2009
Has anybody else been listening to Wind’s Poem? It’s the new album from Mount Eerie, or native Anacortan Phil Elverum. Taken by its elegiac, methodical march, the beautiful behemoth has me cradled in its giant palm. I’m compelled to kneel before some sort of Dark Lord and succumb to his intoxicating assurance of malevolent glory. Elverum the auteur might argue that there is no Dark Lord other than the blustery gusts of wind he’s chosen to exult in this ode to the atmospheric force. The record, predicated on Elverum’s proclaimed affinity for black metal (a genre, mind you, that I’m inadequately prepared to analyze), is stirringly epic, stoically powerful, and enigmatically soothing. The theme is unmistakable: humans and the natural world being thrust to and fro, lulled to sleep or whipped in a frenzy by wind in all its comforting, revealing, and destructive forms. Just listen to the sparse storytelling of “Summons”: “I can’t say it, so I’ll let the wind / come wind, destroyer of worlds, speak to me / show me shapes in the swirling dust”—and prepare yourself accordingly.
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“Wind’s Dark Poem” is the first track and begins the subdued onslaught with a blunt avalanche of stormy distortion. The maelstrom of menace finally subsides to fully reveal Elverum’s mysterious mumble. It’s a poignant beginning to a record that will subtly change pace over its entire course. The 11-minute-long “Through The Trees” could easily score a short film depicting murderous lovers meeting their demise in a rainy, remote forest. I can’t help but be reminded of the long, wet nights of Pacific NW winters, something Elverum no doubt had in mind.
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The metal influence is apparent in this Wind’s Poem—frightening dirges here, unholy crescendos there—but a graceful sadness and a somber understanding of the world broaden and deepen Elverum’s ultimate story. Elongated processions of Twin Peaks-style organs (particularly in “Between Two Mysteries” in which a sample is used from David Lynch’s seminal series, and even makes mention of the fictitious town’s namesake) seek to calm the fury. Despite the foreboding lyrics, look for a bit of optimism in Elverum’s voice during “Ancient Questions”, a dream-inspired melodic waltz. “Stone’s Ode” plays out as a final petition, a carefully orchestrated lamentation. “Night falls / cloaks the world with impenetrable darkness” sings Elverum. It’s the end of a tapestry woven with a bleak, deep seeded beauty.
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