Posted on: October 31, 2010 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Mt Gigantic – Gleanings and Gatherings / 2007 Harlan / 8 Tracks / http://www.mtgigantic.com / http://www.friendsandrelativesrecords.com / Reviewed 01 May 2007

“Get Well Cougher” is the first track on “Gleanings and Gathering”, and it is an interesting for all of the different tempos, loudnesses, and genres that Mt. Gigantic uses during the song. It is not enough that the and goes from quiet to heavy, but the track moves from being much slower to an orgy of chaotic arrangements. The band moves through indie rock, rock, and hints of funk and psychedelic in the creation of their opening track.

The band ensures that they will not get painted into a corner with this track, and even though the song is over seven minutes long, the end comes quickly. It honestly feels as if Mt Gigantic wrap up “Get Well Cougher” within 3 minutes. With the exception of “Fast Wind Slow Bear”, all of the tracks are on the long side of things. Luckily for listeners, Mt. Gigantic are talented enough to keep individuals involved. Whether it be the sedate opening of “Blessed Be The Bicycle”, which opens into shrill screaming (and in turn, moves into shrill guitar work), or any segment of “Who Is In? Who Is Out?”, Mt Gigantic know how to make a varying and intense approach accessible to the most timid and meek individuals. It is not that the band does tracks as much as they do miniature movements.

However, the most compelling of these tracks has to be the aforementioned “Blessed Be The Bicycle”, which has twinkling percussion to recreate an eye of the storm, before the screaming and guitars kick back in. Mt. Gigantic live must be a hell of an act, as it only takes two-tenths of a second for the band to go flip-mode on all of their fans. The band has improved on their prior albums in creating a minor masterpiece here. Forty minutes of music easily transfers into three hundred and twenty minutes when one figures in replay value; the band’s allure lies not only in their arrangements but in their overall demeanor during “Gleanings And Gatherings”. “Gleanings and Gathering” has all the trappings of a manic depressive and a schizophrenic all in one; the resulting music is marked by this, and enough variation is present to make everyone that listens in fans of Mt. Gigantic’s music. Give the disc a go if you like Zappa, Gong, or Momus; this is the same fancy even if the band does not exactly sound like those acts mentioned.

Top Tracks: A Bee, Use What’s Mine

Rating: 7.7/10

[JMcQ]

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