album // Messy Century
Mountaineers were picked up earlier
this year (2003) by Mute after self-releasing a
now very scarce EP ('Red Thong') on Deltasonic.
A trio, consisting of Alex Germains (vocals), Ceri
James and Thomas Kelar (everything else),
Mountaineers are something of a breath of fresh air in this increasingly
new-rock dominated age. How to describe their unique sound is quite
complicated, because their heavily processed dynamic seems to mask
much of their source instrumentation. This owes much to their lo-fi
production ethic which saw the band - according to the stories I've
read - layering loops and tracks from MiniDisc in their own Hot
Trees studio. Messy Century is an incredibly apt
name for what turns out to be a sprawling sonic set of aural contradictions
from electronica through acoustic folk and even grainy atmospheric
codas such as on the introduction to the Sgt Peppers-esque
'Backgrounds'.
Their approach is brave and daring, leaving little
roon for direct comparison. At times I've heard strains of post-'Country
House' Blur, authentic sixties lo-fi folk rock ('All My Life'),
the harmonious quality of Starsailor's Phil Spector-produced recent
output and the crossover electronics of Mouse On Mars. I don't know
whether it's space age folk or post rock or soundtrack melodrama
or all of these things; I just know that it's genuinely different
and highly engaging music, and an interesting twist on the Mute
oeuvre. Daniel Miller and Gareth Jones
were both involved in the recording of 'Messy Century', although
outside of the recent single 'Ripen', with its fuzzy electronic
riffs, their distinctive influence is hard to quantify. Miller is
credited as mixing the album, along with Dean Wengrow and the band
themselves, while Jones provided additional production on 'Ripen'.
The band are credited as having produced the album themselves.
It's also hard to isolate standout tracks here.
The single 'Ripen' is obvious, as are familiar tracks from recent
BBC sessions and live sets such as the forthcoming single 'I Gotta
Sing' or 'It's Solid'. However, that doesn't really do Messy
Century the justice it deserves, and as such my only recommendation
is to listen to the whole album and experience it as a single entity.
Right now it's pretty hard to imagine there being another album
along soon that so effortlessly melds intricate sound design, gorgeous
warm vocals and original guitar and bass playing. Oh, and accordions
too. Welcome to the new yardstick for UK post-rock.
On a slightly negative note, this is perhaps the
first Mute album where their new legal parentage becomes obvious
- behind the disc itself is an advert for EMI's
legal downloads site. Ho hum.
CD:
1. Ripen
2. Sewing
3. It's Solid
4. I Gotta Sing
5. Belgique Limb
6. Want To Write To You
7. UK Theatre
8. Backgrounds
9. All My Life
10. Bom Bom
11. Gruppen
12. Apart From This
13. Silent Dues
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