The Mountain Movers

The Mountain Movers “Apple Mountain” 2xLP Posted in Folk Records, Psychedelic Records on December 21st, 2010

I didn’t know much about The Mountain Movers before their record showed up the other day, but I’m happy to say that they play some pretty amazing music.  “Apple Mountain” is actually their fourth full-length, and you can hear the seasoning clearly.  Spanning three sides of a 2xLP, this is a psychedelic folk opus (owing more to the late 60′s than to psych folk contemporaries like Ben Chasny), telling the story of two lost lovers.  The record comes with a lyric/picture book, has an edition of 250, comes with a cd copy, and costs $22.99.  Visit their Tumblr.

Please take note, due to the holidays, orders won’t be quoted or shipped until January 3, 2011. Thanks!

The nice folks over at Terrascope UK published this review of our new double LP Apple Mountain:

                   

THE MOUNTAIN MOVERS – APPLE MOUNTAIN
(double LP with book and CD from Car Crash Avoiders )

Psychedelic folk Connecticut trio The Mountain Movers are old friends of the Terrascope, and this, their fourth album, only serves to remind us of why. They are charming, ingenuous, talented and original – and a whole lot of fun to listen to.

‘Apple Mountain’ is an impressively presented, sprawling three-sided epic of progressive-rock proportions, and like all the best prog-rock epics there’s a concept: in this case the story of two young lovers who find themselves lost and separated in a blizzard on Apple Mountain. The three sides (I suspect it was originally recorded with a CD in mind, hence the total length of the project) each contain a mix of pop and experimental tendencies, and each build to a kind of fractured crescendo. From the catchy refrain of ‘He Set His House on Fire’ onwards on Side 1, the band push the pedal down hard on

the keyboards, with a shimmering guitar sound layered behind it and various tape-loops popping and cracking in the foreground. The overall effect is a bit like listening to naughty pixies running amok in a church.

Side Two likewise builds to a glorious melee of tape fragments, loops, whirls, feedback and strums; a veritable summer pudding of sound, with ‘The Rivers are Black’ marking the dark point of the young voyagers’ trip. ‘In Their Hands’ and ‘They Hit The Curve’ over on Side 3 are further highlights and the record closes with a reprise of the opening ‘Welcome to Apple Mountain’, as all good concepts should.

If only there was a way to tap into the minds of fans of the Elephant 6 bands of the mid-1990s such as the Olivia Tremor Control and Beluah, there’d be a huge market for this. Sadly I fear those fans are all now mortgaged to the hilt and working as team leaders in call centres with no interest in music any longer. Which is a shame, as I quite like the idea of phoning my bank and being put on hold to the tune of the Mountain Movers’ ‘The Rivers are Black’.

Rick Omonte promises more of the same, including two new cassette releases next January. These are indeed good times to be mountain movers, or even mere sherpas such as myself. (Phil McMullen)