Mountain Movers

Mountain Movers sprung this one with short notice just a couple of weeks ago, an instrumental follow-up to their massive undertaking, Walking After Dark. The 2024 album was one of the last to usher out the final era of Trouble in Mind (RIP), and it found the band pushing towards a full deck of psych, folk, and gnarled noise rock. On Knifethrowers, the band narrows the field, focusing on a dark tangle of instrumental psych, cut through with a rising squall of noise. Fans of the band’s live sets should find plenty to latch onto here, with the record building as an in-studio free jam; proving their prowess at mapping out motifs in the room. The arc of the album focuses on the passage of time and a tour through seasons, moving from the buzz of insects in grass through frigid winters and the stark strip of foliage. No matter the season, the Movers find menace lurking; in the rocks, in the drifts, in the tall grasses and sequestered spaces.

The album was recorded live to tape, dipped and dropped onto the Tascam without overdubs. There’s darkness on Knifethrowers, a sound that comes through in the squelch of synths and the dusted ambiance of drum machines. The band filters their fever through the fillings, turning walks into anxious ambles with eyes towards every creaking fence and shadowed hollow. Through clenched teeth the click and clamor of rhythms emerge, set fire by Kryssi’s fevered leads. A small break from the tension bridges the album, letting an acoustic saunter stitch the sides together through “Floating In A Room,” but it’s a brief respite before the band tosses the listener back into a building storm of synths, strings, and electronics. No matter their vision, Mountain Movers always turn turbulence into ebullience, finding euphoria through friction. It’s a swerve from Walking’s brush with pop, but longtime listeners know never to expect Mountain Movers to sit still.

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