Long before teaming up with Heather McEntire of Bellafea, Jenks Miller of Horseback was in a band called Mount Moriah, but since coming together the two have been playing uniquely beautiful music.
Their self-titled debut album is an eight-song collection of experimental folk at its finest and features collaborations from members of Megafaun, Gayngs, St. Vincent, and Bowerbirds.
The album showcases simple but intelligent, well-written songs with great arrangements that allow McEntire’s voice shine. In the opening track, “Only Way Out,” the melancholy pedal steel guitar nicely compliments McEntire’s warm and slightly countrified vocals. The driving beat and infectious melody make “Social Wedding Rings” a likable standout just as the very catchy “Lament” grabs you in the beginning with every layer until the band completely captivates you with its hooky chorus. The album then takes a slower turn with the sparse, somber and sorrowful “Old Gowns” and closes on the same note with the emotionally naked and instrumentally stripped “Hail, Lightning.”
Despite the fact that the band hails from North Carolina and the audible Southern-influences, I wouldn’t exactly classify Mount Moriah’s eight-song offering as Southern music, but I would classify this record as a stunning and outstanding example of experimental folk. Mount Moriah’s unpretentious yet intelligent songs combined with their beautiful melodies, great hooks, and McEntire’s lovely vocals make this album one experiment that didn’t go awry.
— April Wolfe @ Common Folk Music
01 Only Way Out – Mount Moriah by aibrean
