ALBUM REVIEW: Blind Pilot Finds Its Wings Again on ‘In the Shadow of the Holy Mountain’
Chris Griffy
Posted On August 14, 2024
It’s been eight years since Blind Pilot released their last album, 2016’s And Then Like Lions. That long interval was the result of a period of personal and musical upheaval for frontman and primary songwriter Israel Nebeker, who experienced a lengthy period of writer’s block that left him unable to create any music. After several failed attempts to find a breakthrough, Nebeker challenged himself to write an entire album in one month and bring it to his band, however it sounded. The result is In the Shadow of the Holy Mountain.
To produce the album, Blind Pilot tapped Josh Kaufman (The Hold Steady, David Wax Museum), who brought an indie-rock tinge to the band’s usual folk-pop sensibilities. He also helped push the band to more fullness to their sound, capitalizing on their multi-instrumental talents and calling on some help from friends to bring things like synth, trumpet, vibraphone, and clarinet to the album’s 11 songs.
Much of In the Shadow of the Holy Mountain was inspired by Nebeker’s personal journeys, both literal and figurative. Even the album’s name comes from a visit to Norway to connect with his family roots. This is most felt on the album’s opening track, “Jacaranda.” Inspired by a trip Nebeker took to Mexico with Blind Pilot co-founder Ryan Dobrowski, the song is a word of thanks to Dobrowski for his patience with Nebeker’s troubles. It begins with a simple acoustic guitar strum before swelling into a song full of drumhead-tight harmonies and swelling choruses.
“Just a Bird,” driven by Nebeker’s bluesy electric guitar riffs and Kati Claborn’s mountain dulcimer, details a relationship that is moving a bit faster than the song’s protagonist wants, and the anger he gets back at his hesitation. It features a call-and-response chorus in that gives it a folk-pop jolt that almost belies the weight of lyrics like “If you’re just burning all that holds you back / That fire’s warm but it sure burns fast.”
“Brave” is another song inspired by Nebeker’s international travels. After the band was invited to play at a conference for a humanitarian group focused on support for migrants from Central America, Nebeker became enamored of the group’s efforts. The result is a hook-driven and uplifting anthem.
“Faces of Light” features vocalist Anna Palmer on harmonies. “Pocket Knife” is a look at history and how it affects the present. “Coming Back” is a solo piano ballad that serves as a break from the album’s swells. “Lucky,” a co-write between Nebeker, Claborn, and bassist Luke Ydstie, features duet vocals between Nebeker and Claborn.
For fans of Blind Pilot, the eight-year wait between albums was likely torturous. But their patience has been rewarded with an album that is full of everything they have come to love about the band, with a healthy dose of maturation.
Blind Pilot’s In the Shadow of the Holy Mountain is out Aug. 16 on ATO Records.
