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MOUNTAIN HOME: S/T CD (Language Of Stone) - Mountain Home is a collective led by the duo of Joshua Blatchley (acoustic guitar, harmonium, and vocals) and Kristin Sherer (dulcimer) and this is their first full-length album. It is also the second release on Espers leader Greg Weeks’ new Drag City-affiliated label, Language Of Stone. Supported by an outstanding cast of musicians, including Marissa Nadler (her trademark haunting vocals gracing all but the last of the disc’s tracks), Margaret Wienk (strings), and Weeks, himself (electric guitar and who also produced this glorious sounding album entirely in analog formats at his Hexham Head studios!), Blatchley and Sherer have crafted five tracks of beautiful, crystalline acid folk with skillful precision. In fact, the only slight criticism I can really make about this material is that it is a little too perfect, it seems a little too “by the numbers” at times. I might, personally, prefer a bit more personality, more edge, some dissonance, some slight imperfection to cause ripples on the perfectly glass-like surface of this sonic lake of acid folk. These are trivial concerns, however, and gorgeous tracks like the lengthy "Battle, We Were" and the one track that features Blatchley on vocals, the amazing rendition of the traditional Celtic ballad “Nottamun Town”, make Mountain Home’s eponymous debut a clear winner that makes me look forward with great anticipation to hearing the group’s continuing development on future releases.
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Running Count For The Year
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Did Not Add 18/14%
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