Mount Eerie

Wind's Poem (P.W. Elverum & Sun)

By Joanna McNaney
Published: August 9th, 2009 | 7:00am

Wind's Poem, which is touted as a black metal album, is the latest release from Phil Elverum (a.k.a. Mount Eerie), and it doesn’t welcome listeners easily. This is especially so when compared with the strengths of Elverum’s 2008 releases, including the Lost Wisdom collaboration with the talented Julie Doiron and Fred Squire, as well as Elverum's Black Wooden Ceiling Opening EP.

Only a few of the more ambient tracks on the album stand out. “Ancient Questions” and “Between Two Mysteries” display Elverum’s soft vocals and songwriting ability. “Wind Speaks” and the final track, “Stone’s Ode,” also add some texture (although both could have been one idea spliced into two separate tracks).

With those exceptions, Wind's Poem is so heavily caked with distortion that it takes a real effort to hear anything melodic. The sense that one comes away with after listening to Wind's Poem is that Mount Eerie is trying for a deeper meaning than is actually conveyed.

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