By:
Ernesto Aguilar
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 01/09/2017
Label: All Good Clean Records
...it
is so refreshing to find a release that is all at once heavy, accessible and
frankly beautiful in its construction.
"Slow Wander" DD//LP track listing
1.
Home
2.
Rat King
3.
Oak
4.
Endless Ocean
5.
Stone
6.
Fog
7.
Cellar Door
8.
Acid Wedding
9.
Returning
The Review:
Among
the bins and bins and terabytes upon terabytes, it is so refreshing to find a
release that is all at once heavy, accessible and frankly beautiful in its
construction. While popular music fans may recoil at metal – who hasn't gotten
the wrinkled noses before? – It is oftentimes because they don't understand its
diversity. A band like Red Mountains may
certainly create a greater appreciation for what the music's power can be.
Norway
is known for a range of extreme music. Stoner rock that sounds like it was
crafted on a porch just south of balmy Joshua Tree, California is not one of
those styles you associate with the country. The city of Trondheim and musical
group Red Mountains may well change that.
You
first heard this psychedelic swirl on the quartet's 2015 debut, "Down With The Sun." The band
toured widely on the strength of that sound, which feels inspired at turns by
groups like Electric Wizard and Dead Meadow.
What makes Red Mountains, however, so distinct is their
songwriting and overall arrangements. Guitarists Magnus Riise and Jostein
Wigenstad are peerless in their respective lead and backing vocals. The songs
offer uncomplicated chronicles that are at turns personal and at still others
rich with fantasy. "Fog"
and "Oak" among other
tracks tell engrossing stories that carry on as a thread elsewhere. Another
standout, "Cellar Door,"
demonstrates the picturesque lyrics you catch throughout, to convey vignettes
you do not expect.
A
band this sharp with its recording has to see its drum and bass acknowledged.
Percussionist Simen Mathiassen and Sverre Dalen on bass shine on several cuts. They
command the best songs, including "Acid
Wedding" and "Rat
King." Again, much mystical storytelling that is aided and abetted by
the emotional marks Red Mountains' rhythm
section lands. You will not catch a blast furnace of music. "Slow Wander" is exactly what
it says: a slow and purposeful wander through a universe Riise's words bring to
life. A wondrous world it is too.
"Slow Wander" is available here
