I love when music deals me a surprise card and last Thursday was full of wonderful surprises. 
Surprise 1. The happy surprises began when I got off work early enough to make it to an AIDS benefit concert at the Bottleneck in Lawrence, Kan. The headlining act was an acoustic performance from Mime Game, a new project of a former Josephine Collective singer, but the band I wanted to see: HOLY mountain. The group was on my list of bands I needed to see, especially after I just barely missed them the last time.
When I arrived at the venue, another band was wrapping up their set of tunes that sounded minorly inspired by old school video game soundtrack music. They became my soundtrack as I browsed HOLY mountain’s merch table. The guys had a 3-song Sons and Daughters EP for sale, with handmade covers drawn by Sharpie. Some were practical images (mountains, simple diagonal lines), but others were completely out there (Rorschach-would-have-a field-day-doodles). These drawings actually served as a fitting teaser for the performance that was to come: music that was practical and well-thought out, but also not afraid to be adventurous and leave room for interpretation. These images and the performance were a statement that HOLY mountain is a band that doesn’t like to be boxed into one label or one design.
This brings me to Surprise 2. HOLY mountain really doesn’t fit into a genre. As I listened to them play “Make/Wait,” I started off thinking their pleasant sounds was much like that of instrumental band Explosions in the Sky. It began with a quiet whisper of a guitar chords strummed and allowed to echo off into oblivion. Then, a drum roll builds as the keys of the piano fill in the gaps. The drums cut out, and the piano continues. So far you’re thinking, beautiful, but not surprising, and I did promise a second surprise. Surprise 2 is that while I thought I had the band pegged as KC version of Explosions in the Sky, the guys surprised by proving that not only were they skilled at crafting instrumental landscapes, but that they were also vocally gifted. Midway through this tune, they added chilling vocal harmonies. “Make/Wait” still kept the focus on the musical phrases and less on the lyrical phrases. The voices were just another instrument, but this description of a single song is just a taste of the band.
.“Make/Wait”
On other songs, the vocals were more forefront and the emphasis was on the lyrics. With as many as three voices singing in harmony at various times during the set, the guys seemed as if they could give the Fleet Foxes a run for the money.
Surprise 3 was perhaps my favorite surprise of all. Already impressed by vocal chops and song craftsmanship from such a young band, I was again dealt another surprise when the guys began playing a sort of live musical chairs. Each guy in this band could not be pinned down to just one instrument. Guitars and drumsticks were constantly exchanging hands. With all able to sing and play multiple instruments, this is the first time where I’ve ever looked at a band and been confused who the frontman was, which is actually a refreshing thought. One guy didn’t stand out in particular because they were all equals. There were no lapses in skill levels when they changed positions. It seems rare to see a band whose members are so equally matched.
HOLY mountain wasn’t the headliner, and I’ll do the headliner Mime Game a favor by not reviewing too fully the pitchy performance (there’s potential, but practice please!). For me, the show began and ended with HOLY mountain. I can’t wait to see what is to come in the future of this band. If they’re already this tight when so new to the scene, I can only imagine how much better they’ll continue to get. Currently they just have an EP, but they’re in the process of working on their debut album.
Check back to PopWreckoning.com later this week to see an interview with this promising act.
