Media

Mountains: Choral (MP3)

3:12 p.m. · January 16, 2009 · by Matthew Fiander

As the title track to Mountains' upcoming Thrill Jockey release, "Choral" prepares us for an album with an awful lot of space. The duo's combination of electronic blips and organic instrumentation always makes for something spread-out and pastoral. But this track practically breathes. The surge of rusty drones in the background drifts under the plink of piano notes, the steady thump of synth lines, and some unidentified and terribly eerie scratching noises.  But just when the song feels like it has settled into a seething rhythm, a chorus of moans surges forward and takes over. The song takes its time developing over thirteen minutes, but it never becomes idle. The droning pulse is always straining to add to itself, to keep the tension going, rather than settling down and coasting on its own wake.

Choral will be release by Thrill Jockey on Feb. 17.

[Pitchfork]