12 December 2009

The Microphones - Song Islands (2002)



Phil Elverum, aka The Microphones, aka Mount Eerie is a guy from Anacortes, WA that has one of the most outstanding and unique personal musical styles i've ever heard. He's the songwriter and only permanent member of The Microphones, and recorded most of the Microphones-era tracks on a broken 16-track reel-to-reel tape recorder. The sound quality is fantastic, don't get me wrong. Way better than the modern digital recording shit.
Kind of eccentric, heartbroken, lonely but beautiful lyrics. Transitions from deafeningly loud, crashing, feedback-laden guitars to gentle acoustic songs that never seem forced or unnatural. If you get into it there's a large and varied catalog to explore, and it is worth it. He dropped The Microphones moniker in 2003 and changed to Mount Eerie, which is more acoustic-based.

'The Moon' (track 11) is one of my favourite songs of all time. Listen to it or you aren't my friend anymore.
Other great songs from this album are 'I Lost My Wind', 'Lanterns', 'I Listen Close', and 'There's No Invincible Disguise That Lasts All Day'.

P.S. Listen with headphones, there's a lot of subtle things going on appreciated best with clear stereo




http://www.pwelverumandsun.com/
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Microphones

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