{"id":10714,"date":"2018-03-09T10:00:14","date_gmt":"2018-03-09T15:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.altwire.net\/?p=10714"},"modified":"2023-12-06T06:39:43","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T11:39:43","slug":"album-review-mountains-of-the-moon-tigers-tongue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/album-review-mountains-of-the-moon-tigers-tongue\/","title":{"rendered":"[Album Review] Mountains Of The Moon – Tiger’s Tongue"},"content":{"rendered":"

This one is a little late to the party, having been released mid-January, but every so often there comes something you stumble upon that stops you in your tracks, and can\u2019t help but hold your attention.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mountains of the Moon <\/strong>are a Swedish alternative folk rock act, hailing from Stockholm, who have recently released their debut 2018 EP, Tiger\u2019s Tongue. <\/em>Stylistically akin to the likes of English singer-songwriter, Ben Howard<\/a><\/strong>, Tiger\u2019s Tongue<\/em> hardly revolutionizes the moody, alternative rock sound the band so wholeheartedly encapsulates throughout the short, four track EP, but what becomes immediately apparent is that there is certainly something within the depths of Tiger\u2019s Tongue<\/em>, that can\u2019t help but be wonderfully rewarding. Indeed, there\u2019s something ethereally engaging that surrounds the group\u2019s mellow, acoustic instrumentation, and vocalist Adam Huttunen<\/strong>\u2019s poignant delivery of the group\u2019s reflective, intimate lyrical content. With the well-received previous single releases, \u2018How I Leapt From The Stratosphere\u2019, and \u2018Caterpillar\u2019, and release of their debut EP, Mountains of the Moon <\/strong>have clearly only just begun.<\/p>\n

Drenched in soothing, sombre atmospherics and glittering subdued undertones, opening track, \u2018Tiger\u2019s Tongue\u2019, starts things slowly. Building gradually from a lightest touch and gentle melody, the opener takes its time in submerging its listener in the solemn ambiance, Adam Huttunen<\/strong>\u2019s crooning vocals breaking through the candescence softly, before the track bleeds into the following \u2018Overgrown.\u2019 Conceptually, \u2018Overgrown\u2019 essentially acts as the second half to the introductory \u2018Tigers Tongue\u2019, calm guitar-work and the occasional natural harmonic that skips out from underneath a mournful surface, while Huttunen <\/strong>delivers a hauntingly morose performance, lyrically reflecting on the age-old emotional discontent of long-lost connection; \u201cyou used to stand with me, love. Indelibly, I thought \u2013 you said whatever may be. So where\u2019d you go?\u201d <\/em>Instrumentally the track continues the build initiated by \u2018Tigers Tongue\u2019, but the introduction of pounding percussion and subtle underlying bass-work drives the track\u2019s heartbeat forward, eventually breaching the surface in Huttunen<\/strong>\u2019s desperate exasperation of \u201cwhat\u2019s to live for now? What\u2019s to die for now? Oh, I don\u2019t know \u2013 no I don\u2019t know.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Shifting the EP\u2019s into slightly newer territory, \u2018Pretty Near the Bottom\u2019s faster-paced tempo leans on an unrelenting, continuous percussive backbone, and moody bass guitar-work that drives the track forward. Thematically similar to Ben Howard<\/strong>\u2019s \u2018Oats In The Water\u2019, occasional clean guitar trickles in as the underlying tension gradually takes further hold, Huttunen<\/strong>\u2019s frustrated deliverance of \u201cecstatic expression, fading out \u2013 manic depression take me now\u201d<\/em> finds itself soaked in reverb and layered echo as the track continues, before \u2018Pretty Near the Bottom\u2019 retreats slowly into its initial percussive and bass elements, and comes to a final close. Concluding track, \u2018Talking to Myself\u2019, takes things into a slightly more stripped down, acoustic direction; far less reliant on the brilliantly layered instrumentation much of the EP utilizes, \u2018Talking to Myself\u2019 instead stands as really the only track on Tiger\u2019s Tongue<\/em> to truly focus on Adam Huttunen<\/strong>\u2019s performance, and allow the vocals to take center stage. Blending in seamlessly with all other elements, Huttunen<\/strong>\u2019s vocals are more often utilized to complement the likes of \u2018Overgrown\u2019s thrilling instrumentation, instead of taking the attention away from it, while \u2018Talking to Myself\u2019s simple acoustic guitar and delicate piano backing allow the vocals free reign, and it comes together to superb effect.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s strange how sometimes the vaguest connection can cause wonderful discovery; this humble reviewer stumbled upon Mountains of the Moon<\/strong> while searching for something that couldn\u2019t have been further removed from the Swedish alternative folk rock act, but it\u2019s in moments such as this that sometimes the best can be found. As an introductory body of work for Mountains of the Moon<\/strong>, Tiger\u2019s Tongue <\/em>is a brilliant, beautiful opening chapter, for a band that clearly has a lot to offer. Amidst vibrant instrumentation, and Huttenen<\/strong>\u2019s charismatic vocal performance throughout the EP, the group\u2019s still growing following certainly follow for a reason, the reality of it being that Mountains of the Moon <\/strong>deserve every bit of recognition they can find. And much, much more.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This one is a little late to the party, having been released mid-January, but every so often there comes something … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":10716,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10714\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}