Mountaineers - 'Messy Century' (Mute)
4/5
By: Samantha Hall
Mountaineers' debut, 'Messy Century' - the aural-parallel to vintage cowboy-boots: deceivingly comfy, very cool, but still possessive of the potential to prove somewhat kinky behind closed doors...
And, non-confusingly, it sounds like just what it is - a gaggle of laid-back stoner students, who had no intention of changing the world but wanted to make nice sounds in their bohemian uncle's summer house, while puffing eagerly away as if Rizlas were in short supply. It's good - it's... 'nice'. Intricate, and complex, yet soft to the ear.
Despite having some very dominant influences from some of the major musical movements and artists of this century alone, 'MC' is strangely, unthreateningly and mysteriously unpredictable. Exuberant tracks such as recent-single 'Ripen' and 'I Gotta Sing' are worthy of widespread, airplay-touting exposure, and so it's a shame when the more off-beat, twisted-pop numbers ('Belique Limb' and 'All My Life') won't get a look in; too uncoordinated for daytime consumption, yet too mainstream for the trendies.
It is clear that the Mountaineers seem to constantly evolve and reach 'new heights' (ho ho ho, etc.). But literally, there is something new to be found or excited by every spin - partly due to the great density of the wall of worldly sound that penetrates the ear at varying frequencies, married with ambient, distorted vocals, enhancing computerised buzzes and clashes reflecting repetitive, exhaustive and routine life. Fresh, tight production blended to the mix, and the crusty, ragged vox top off a pleasingly simplistic indie-cum-tronica hybrid.
Think Romanian, folk hotel, with a view of a sleazy Reykjavik nightclub. Exactly - alluring.
Artists in this article: Mountaineers
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment