Megafaun

Mount Moriah

Pop Addict: Mount Moriah’s Mount Moriah

Every Thursday, Pop Addict presents infectious tunes from contemporary musicians across indie rock, pop, folk, electronica, and more.

Mount Moriah: Mount MoriahMount Moriah: Mount Moriah (Holidays for Quince, 4/12/11)

Mount Moriah: “Lament”

[audio:https://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/mountmoriah_lament.mp3|titles=Mount Moriah: “Lament”]

Back in 2005, Heather McEntire and Jenks Miller met while working at a record store in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The two would delve into their own musical endeavors — McEntire partaking in the post-punk outfit Bellafea and Miller in the avant/psych-metal project Horseback. After the pair collaborated as Un Deux Trois on the Lovers EP in 2007, they decided to make their collaboration a full-time gig, and they formed Mount Moriah, releasing a debut EP, The Letting Go, last year.

It was soon obvious that Mount Moriah was a stark departure for McEntire and Miller, as they traded in their obscure, not-easily-defined credentials for stripped-down alt-country/folk music. And the duo’s knack for crafting simple (but not simplistic) classic tunes comes through loud and clear on Mount Moriah’s self-titled follow-up.

All Tiny Creatures

Pop Addict: All Tiny Creatures’ Harbors

Every Thursday, Pop Addict presents infectious tunes from contemporary musicians across indie rock, pop, folk, electronica, and more.

All Tiny Creatures: HarborsAll Tiny Creatures: Harbors (Hometapes, 3/29/11)

All Tiny Creatures: “An Iris”

[audio:https://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/AllTinyCreatures-AnIris.mp3|titles=All Tiny Creatures: “An Iris”]

If you’re in a band from Wisconsin, and you’re friends with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, people are going to hear about your record. And if you happen to enlist his help, if only for one track, most of those people will venture a listen or two. Make that song your single and you’ve pretty much guaranteed a modicum of favorable attention from fans and critics alike.

But if, like Madison’s All Tiny Creatures, you also happen to seamlessly weave synthesizers, guitars, and percussion into loop-heavy, pop-friendly melodies, then you’ve probably earned a great deal of that notoriety on your own; in fact, that attention might be long overdue. With or without Justin Vernon, your band is on the verge of something exciting. And you should congratulate yourself with a nice Wisconsin cheese tray.