Solitude – When Mountains Speak (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

I knew it wouldn’t be too long before a new release from When Mountains Speak would be headed my way, Solitude being the first one of the new year. In fact, I’m surprised that it has taken this long, such is the prolific output of Steven Clarkson and the gang. But we are all busy people, and then again, the gap between the last release and this one still puts the band way ahead of most people’s work rate.

Anyway, Solitude. This latest album sees Steven in solo mode, but as a multi-instrumentalist, he is able to cover a lot of the same sonic ground as when joined by the other players. So, no matter how many WMS players make up an album—one solitary sonic voice, the usual three musical amigos, or even the augmented versions of the band with guest players and additional collaborators—you find yourself in familiar territory.

Well, it is familiar territory if you have heard them before, but if you are new to the band, it may be challenging, a bit too avant-garde and slightly unbalancing experimental territory. But that is what I love about When Mountains Speak. Sure, you might need help dancing to a lot of what they do, (and fair play to you for trying) and singing along is not from what it is about either. Still, if you like the idea of music as a passport to new sonic realms, as an inspiration for more profound thoughts – everything from the nature of music to the nature of the universe – then this is the stuff.

Take any song at random, and to be honest, you might as well, such is the experimental, ever-changing, evolutionary and eclectic nature of the sonic landscape that WMS builds. Do that, and you will find sounds that both clash and complement, collide and create and build into truly unique forms.

Karch Hangout is a scatter gun salvo of free jazz boundary-pushing heading in even more distorted directions, music that feels as if it is constantly being pulled apart and put back together as the notes look for common ground. But then you have tracks such as Monastery, which feel more focused and structured. Still off-beat and off-kilter by most people’s standards, especially if you like an excellent Gershwin tune, but with its blend of wandering saxophone and bubbling bass, its oriental meanderings and skittering guitars, certainly not as much of a shock for the listener as some of the music found here.

Songs like Lunar, for example, but even that is a song that I really like, well, perhaps appreciate is a better word, because they sometimes sound like one focused idea one moment and a number of instruments looking for different songs the next. Call me perverse, but isn’t that more fun than just listening to a load of indie kids still trying to sound like T-Rex?

As always, When Mountains Speak offers something odd and mercurial, adventurous, and “out there.” But their version of “out there” sounds like a lot of fun. And should you join them some time, I’ll see you there.

In the meantime, find them streaming on YouTube (@whenmountainsspeak) the last Wednesday of every month at 7pm CST (US)