Phil Elverum Philip Whitman Elverum (; born May 23, 1978) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and visual artist, best known for his musical projects The Microphones and Mount Eerie. Based in Anacortes, Washington, in the mid-2000s he began ...

The Microphones The Microphones are an American indie folk, indie rock, and experimental project from Olympia, Washington. The project was founded in 1996 and ended in 2003, with a short reunion following in 2007 and revivals in 2019 and 2020. Across every it ...

the Microphones The Microphones are an American indie folk, indie rock, and experimental project from Olympia, Washington. The project was founded in 1996 and ended in 2003, with a short reunion following in 2007 and revivals in 2019 and 2020. Across every it ...

Mount Eerie Mount Eerie is the musical project of American songwriter and producer Phil Elverum. Elverum (also of The Microphones) is the principal member of the band, but has collaborated with many other musicians on his records and in live performances. ...

Anacortes, Washington Anacortes ( ) is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name "Anacortes" is an adaptation of the name of Anne Curtis Bowman, who was the wife of early Fidalgo Island settler Amos Bowman.Mount Erie. In an interview with

CITR-FM CiTR-FM, is a Canadian FM radio station based out of the University of British Columbia's Student Union Building in the University Endowment Lands, just west of the city limits of Vancouver, British Columbia. Its transmitter is also located o ...

's ''Discorder'' in September 2003, Elverum gave his reasons for this change: "Mount Eerie is a new project. The Microphones was completed, or at least at a good stopping point. I did it because I am ready for new things. I am new." Around this time, Elverum also changed the spelling of his own surname (previously, Elvrum). The first Mount Eerie releases included a limited edition CD of new recordings ('' Seven New Songs''), a 12" EP recorded live to acetate with local musicians during an Australian tour ('' Mount Eerie Dances with Wolves''), and a live triple album released by

Burnt Toast Vinyl Burnt Toast Vinyl is an independent record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. History Burnt Toast Vinyl was founded by Scott Hatch, a Drexel University student who had initially been involved with concert promotion at the school. The la ...

in late 2004 (''Live in Copenhagen''). Elverum returned to his hometown of Anacortes after spending several years living in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. European ...

whilst recording for

K Records K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent music ...

, and established his own label and imprint, P.W. Elverum & Sun, Ltd. The first official Mount Eerie studio album in Phil's eyes was '' No Flashlight'', released in August 2005. The original pressing featured an extremely large fold-out sleeve with extensive footnotes and explanations. Following pressings of the album feature more simple packaging with the original liner notes and poster absent.

2006–2015: Touring and further releases

Elverum has continued to tour and record prolifically in recent years, to considerable critical acclaim. Noteworthy releases have included '' Mount Eerie pts. 6 & 7'' (a hardcover coffee-table book of Elverum's photography, packaged with a 10" record), '' Lost Wisdom'' (recorded with

Julie Doiron Julie Doiron (born June 28, 1972) is a Canadian singer-songwriter of Acadian heritage. She has been the bass guitarist and co-vocalist for the Canadian indie rock band Eric's Trip since its formation in 1990. She has released ten solo albums, beg ...

and

Frederick Squire Frederick Squire is a Canadian rock singer, songwriter and guitarist. Originally from Ajax, Ontario, he is based in Sudbury following a number of years living in Sackville, New Brunswick.Wind's Poem'' (a

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

-influenced album, recorded with Nicholas Krgovich). In 2012, Elverum released two albums, '' Clear Moon'' and '' Ocean Roar.'' He was also chosen to perform at Jeff Mangum's

All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the song came from Reed's observation of Andy Warh ...

festival in Minehead, England. An admirer of

Neutral Milk Hotel Neutral Milk Hotel was an American band formed in Ruston, Louisiana, by musician Jeff Mangum. They were active from 1989 to 1998, and again from 2013 to 2015. The band's music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie roc ...

, he stated it was an "honor to be chosen." In 2013, Elverum was a part of the

Primavera Sound Primavera Sound (commonly referred to as simply Primavera) is an annual music festival held in Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain that takes place between the end of May and beginning of June. The first edition took place in 2001 in Poble Espany ...

line-up. A new Mount Eerie album entitled ''

Sauna A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...

'' was released on February 2, 2015.

2017–2020: ''A Crow Looked at Me'', ''Now Only'' and ''Lost Wisdom Pt. 2''

In January 2017, the song "Real Death" was released from the forthcoming album ''

A Crow Looked at Me ''A Crow Looked at Me'' is the eighth studio album by Mount Eerie, a solo project of the American musician Phil Elverum. Released in 2017, it was composed in the aftermath of his 35-year-old wife Geneviève Castrée's diagnosis with pancreatic ...

''. A second single, "Ravens", was released on February 15. On March 24, ''

A Crow Looked at Me ''A Crow Looked at Me'' is the eighth studio album by Mount Eerie, a solo project of the American musician Phil Elverum. Released in 2017, it was composed in the aftermath of his 35-year-old wife Geneviève Castrée's diagnosis with pancreatic ...

'' was released to high critical praise.

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

's Alex Hudson scored the album a 9 out of 10, calling the record an "emotionally nuanced meditation on death that is both heartbreaking and hopeful." January 2018, the album ''

Now Only ''Now Only'' is the ninth studio album by Mount Eerie, the solo project of American musician Phil Elverum. It was released on March 16, 2018, on Elverum's record label P.W. Elverum & Sun. Like the preceding Mount Eerie album ''A Crow Looked at ...

'' was announced along with the release of the album track "Distortion". A press release indicated that the album was written in 2017 shortly following the death of

Geneviève Castrée Geneviève Elverum ( Gosselin; April 9, 1981 – July 9, 2016), also known as Geneviève Castrée, was a Canadian cartoonist, illustrator, and musician from Quebec. An early admirer of comics, she began creating them at a young age. L'Oie de Cra ...

, Phil's wife. The album was officially released on March 16, 2018, to positive reviews, with

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

describing the album as a progression from ''A Crow Looked at Me'': "not an experience of total sadness, featuring flashes of irony, hope, and love". After touring North America in the summer of 2017, Elverum played songs from ''A Crow Looked at Me'' across Europe and Australasia. The second of these shows became ''

(after) ''(after)'' is a live album by Mount Eerie, released in 2018. The album captures a live performance of songs from ''A Crow Looked at Me'' and '' Now Only'' recorded at the 2017 Le Guess Who? festival in the Netherlands. Reception Upon release, ...

'', a live recording eventually released in September 2018 and was well received by Pitchfork who noted "the most striking thing about ''(after)'' is that, even after so many performances, these songs sound as raw as they did when Elverum first committed them to paper and tape". On September 25, 2019, Elverum announced a sequel to his 2008 collaboration with Julie Doiron, ''Lost Wisdom'', entitled '' Lost Wisdom Pt. 2''. It was released on November 8, 2019. Two singles were released. On January 28, 2020, Elverum announced a North American tour in support of the album. That same week as the announcement Elverum toured through Canada with singer

Angel Olsen Angel Olsen (born Angelina Maria Carroll; January 22, 1987) is an American singer-songwriter and musician from St. Louis, Missouri who lives in Asheville, North Carolina. To date, Olsen has released six studio albums: ''Half Way Home'' (2012), ...

. The tour was set to take place in April of that year with Julie Doiron accompanying him, however was cancelled and rescheduled to October 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Elverum also announced a show with Angel Olsen at Brooklyn's Prospect Park Bandshell on July 22. In 2020, Elverum appeared on a charity compilation album entitled ''The Song Is Coming from Inside the House''. All proceeds from the album will go to Groundswell's Rapid Response Fund, a charity intended to help "provide fast funding to grassroots organizations led by

women of color The term "person of color" (plural, : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "White people, white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily a ...

, trans people of color, and

low-income Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

income

women and trans people in critical". Elverum was also featured on the 20th anniversary reissue Mirah's debut album, '' You Think It’s Like This but Really It’s Like This''; performing an "Of Pressure" cover.

Artistry

Elverum's music under the Mount Eerie moniker expresses a close relationship to nature and the Pacific Northwest, in particular the minute details. Early Mount Eerie albums often discussed how "the distinction between wild and not wild is an illusion". In a 2014 interview, Elverum discussed how his choice for moniker coming from a mountain in Anacortes was a way of infusing a sense of regional connection between the music and the place. His lyrical matter has been seen by some to be more introspective than his work before the name change. Brady Baker of ''Spectrum Culture'' called Mount Eerie "a solid foundation for an ever-expanding lyrical labyrinth that centers on his introspective philosophy." Eric Hill of ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' believed the opposite, writing that Elverum's work under the Mount Eerie title is more "universal and, at times, hermetic." Elverum also believed that the songs under Mount Eerie were more universal describing them as "this one long chain, about the idea of singing from the point of view of this dark looming mountain shape, while Microphones songs, historically, have been more personally narrative, maybe more human." After the death of Elverum's wife,

Geneviève Castrée Geneviève Elverum ( Gosselin; April 9, 1981 – July 9, 2016), also known as Geneviève Castrée, was a Canadian cartoonist, illustrator, and musician from Quebec. An early admirer of comics, she began creating them at a young age. L'Oie de Cra ...

, in 2016 his lyrics became more direct and plainspoken. Musically, Elverum has experimented with "black metal, lo-fi krautrock, fuzzy post-rock textures and Auto-Tune experimentation". My Bloody Valentine,

George Gurdjieff George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (; rus, Гео́ргий Ива́нович Гурджи́ев, r=Geórgy Ivánovich Gurdzhíev, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj ɪˈvanəvʲɪd͡ʑ ɡʊrd͡ʐˈʐɨ(j)ɪf; hy, Գեորգի Իվանովիչ Գյուրջիև; c. 1 ...

and

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

have all been cited by Elverum as influences on the project.

Reception

''

Kerrang ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one-of ...

!'' included Mount Eerie on their list of 10 non-

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

artists enjoyed by metal fans.

Discography

Studio albums

*'' "No Flashlight": Songs of the Fulfilled Night'' (2005) *'' Lost Wisdom'' (2008) *''

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...

'' (2008) *'' Wind's Poem'' (2009) *'' Clear Moon'' (2012) *'' Ocean Roar'' (2012) *''

Sauna A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...

'' (2015) *''

A Crow Looked at Me ''A Crow Looked at Me'' is the eighth studio album by Mount Eerie, a solo project of the American musician Phil Elverum. Released in 2017, it was composed in the aftermath of his 35-year-old wife Geneviève Castrée's diagnosis with pancreatic ...

'' (2017) *''

Now Only ''Now Only'' is the ninth studio album by Mount Eerie, the solo project of American musician Phil Elverum. It was released on March 16, 2018, on Elverum's record label P.W. Elverum & Sun. Like the preceding Mount Eerie album ''A Crow Looked at ...

'' (2018) *'' Lost Wisdom pt. 2'' (2019)

EPs and other albums

*'' Seven New Songs of "Mount Eerie"'' (2004) *''Live in Copenhagen'' (2004) *'' Mount Eerie Dances with Wolves'' (2004) *'' The Drums from "No Flashlight" by Mt. Eerie'' (2005) *''

Singers Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

'' (2005) *'' Eleven Old Songs of Mount Eerie'' (2005) *''Nobody's Perfect'' (2005) *'' Mount Eerie pts. 6 & 7'' (2007) *'' Black Wooden Ceiling Opening'' (2008) *''

White Stag A white stag (or white hind for the female) is a white-colored red deer, wapiti, sika deer, chital, fallow deer, roe deer, white-tailed deer, black-tailed deer, reindeer, moose, or rusa, explained by a condition known as leucism that causes i ...

'' (2009) *'' Black Wooden'' (2009) *''Daytrotter Session'' (2010) *'' Song Islands vol. 2'' (2010) *'' LOST WISDOM live at Gunjyo, March 12th, 2010'' (2012) *''the LAST HIT (soundtrack)'' (2013) *''Live in Seattle, Sept. 7th, 2013 (2013)'' *'' Live in Bloomington, September 30, 2011'' (2013) *'' Pre-Human Ideas'' (2013) *'' Sauna (bonus tracks)'' (2015) *''

(after) ''(after)'' is a live album by Mount Eerie, released in 2018. The album captures a live performance of songs from ''A Crow Looked at Me'' and '' Now Only'' recorded at the 2017 Le Guess Who? festival in the Netherlands. Reception Upon release, ...

'' (2018)

Singles

*"2 Songs" (2005) *"In The World/I Love You Guys (slow)" (2005) *"I Whale" (2006) *"Prisoner of Desire/Through the Trees (excerpt)" (2008) *"Alphabet Series Ö 7"" (2012) *"To The Ground/The Mouth Of Sky (M.I.D.I. Strings)" (2012) *"World Heaves 7"" (2012) *"Distorted Cymbals/Angelpoise Cymbals" (2012) *"World Heaves b/w Engel der Luft (Popol Vuh) (version)" (2012) *"The Place Lives (version)/The Place I Live (version)" (2012) *" Clear Moon/Ocean Roar (Condensed Versions)" (2012) *"Live With Odeon Quartet" (2013) *"Emptiness (version)" (2014) *"Real Death" (2017) *"Ravens" (2017) *"Distortion" (2018) *"Tintin in Tibet" (2018) *"Soria Moria (live)" (2018) *"2 remixes by Wolves in the Throne Room" (2018) *"(fireworks & wind)" (2019) *"Love Without Possession" (2019) *"Belief Pt. 2" (2019)

Guest appearances

*"The Song Is Coming from Inside the House" (2020)

History

2003–2005: Career beginnings

2006–2015: Touring and further releases

2017–2020: ''A Crow Looked at Me'', ''Now Only'' and ''Lost Wisdom Pt. 2''

Artistry

Reception

Discography

Studio albums

EPs and other albums

Singles

Guest appearances

References

External links