Mountain Man's Made the Harbor (Bella Union/Partisan Records, 2010); image courtesy of pitchfork.com
Prompted by a friend’s recommendation, I saw a Vermont-based trio perform under the beguiling name Mountain Man during South By Southwest last spring. Amidst the chatter of industry types and curious bystanders, I was entranced by Molly Erin Sarle, Alexandra Sauser-Monnig and Amelia Randall Meath’s voices. They occasionally held hands and passed around a worn acoustic guitar. They revealed that this was their first performance with microphones. While this perhaps explained slight nervousness, it took nothing away from their evident musicality. Since then, I’ve been invested in their debut Made the Harbor. That they also pass out sex-positive ‘zines at shows is icing on the cake.
Formed in Bennington, Mountain Man recall early American and English folk music. This is most evident in ”Babylon,” a traditional piece many might recall from a season one episode of Mad Men named after the folk standard. I also speculate appreciation for 1960s English folk singers like Sandy Denny and 1970s women’s music pioneers like Holly Near in the group’s aural purity and celebration of female voices. Recorded in an old ice cream parlor in upstate New York, Made the Harbor faithfully captures, leaving in shared laughter between songs to further emphasize the songs’ intimacy.
At first, I was enamored with their intonation, which could speak to their collective experience in church choirs. It takes considerable listening to balance the sound, blend individual voices into it, emphasize harmonic passages, and maintain tonal and rhythmic integrity.
I must also commend their ear for melody. One might not think “pop accessibility” when presented with a vocal ensemble who sporadically accompany themselves on guitar, but I often hum ”Animal Tracks,” “Soft Skin,” “Buffalo,” “Arabella,” and “Honeybee.” I’m also haunted by how the group weaves indelible melodies with evocative lyrical imagery, particularly on the bewitching “Dog Song.”
I take issue with their cover of ”How’m I Doin’,” a song I believe was popularized by the Mills Brothers. While I recognize Mountain Man’s efforts, I find myself a little uncomfortable with the racial connotations of their performance. The Mills Brothers were an African American vocal group best known in the first half of the twentieth century. The song incorporates a black Southern dialect in its boasts of the singers’ prowess and reflections on a gadabout. Mountain Man’s version makes evident the group’s whiteness, and may also provide them privilege in performing an obscure song some might not recognize as a cover. Thus listeners must always be conscious of attribution when contemporary acts hail the past.
I also wonder if Mountain Man will experiment with their sound. While I love their spare beauty, I sense the potential Björk found in Medúlla to maximize the musical uses of the voice as both a melodic and rhythmic instrument.
Yet to hear three women searching for something and coming together while they’re searching, as Sarle described their sound in an interview for Spinner, is inspiring. That they’ve gotten some indie rock accolades is not surprising, given the warm reception bestowed upon Smithsonian Folkways compilations and 60s English folk singer Vashti Bunyan. Yet I’m happy that the group is getting good reviews, as I’m heartened by the promise of Made the Harbor and believe Mountain Man could develop into something transcendent.
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