Monday, August 23, 2010

Secret Mountains - "Rest Easy" / Rejoice


Baltimore's Secret Mountains have a new EP. Last year's Kaddish showed us what they had to offer, but Rejoice cements what this incredibly lush folk pop band is capable of.

While this release is deeply rooted in the luminescent and ever-growing folk outfits here in town, it's the pop sensibilities that stick out - carefully scattered about the songs like the bright Autumn leaves you'll step on next month. Rejoice is a three track EP the band currently has with them on tour, and a proper home for the release is in the works.



"Rest Easy" is the last track of the three, and just like the others it clocks in at well over five minutes. It starts out delicate, which feels ideal after the heavy salt of the "Dead Sea" is used to "wash away the things we've done" in the track prior. But in the end you wake up and are at ease, and "Rest Easy" allows you to do just that. The song eventually bursts like balloons filled with joy and reflection - at a party singing along and dancing with all of your friends.

In this case their friends were actually singing, as Caleb from Lands & Peoples and Sianna Plavin add their magnificent vocals to parts of "Rest Easy". This EP paints atmospheres that inspire every emotion imaginable, with waves of color and splashes of darkness. Whether the melodies are eerie or brighter than the clouds, they are carefully laced throughout the entire album.

Secret Mountains stop through their hometown on a tour tonight, and play the Hexagon with our friends INEVERYROOM. Openers Hop Along and Green Paper front tonight's bill.

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