Bruce Peninsula: A Mountain Is A Mouth (2009)

New Wax


My reaction halfway through the first track on Bruce Peninsula's debut album A Mountain Is A Mouth: "Wow, what the hell is this?"  It should be infinitely amusing to see what kind of classifications fellow bloggers and music writers conjure up in describing this Toronto band's imaginative hodgepodge of folk, indie rock, blues, soul, and even jam-band. The band's most noticeable and endearing quality has got to be that gospel choir backing lead singer Neil Haverty's throaty vocals. Yeah, you read that right. A freaking gospel choir. The ten-piece collective navigates through A Mountain Is A Mouth with a ragged ferocity that's just as beautiful as it is guttural. Bruce Peninsula's strength is in numbers and the album's vocal diversity is its strongest characteristic. The juxtaposition of Haverty's gravelly voice and those soaring background vocals is overwhelming in its sheer spiritual grandeur while more intimate moments like "Weave Myself A Dress," which features band member Misha Bower as lead vocalist, offer a welcome respite to the album's manic energy. Half the time you'd be hard-pressed to discern whether Haverty is singing a song or performing an exorcism. By the time the last cathartic track on A Mountain Is A Mouth has crackled off into silence, you've done more than just listen to an album. You've experienced it. That's saying something. -- Capt. Obvious

Listen:
MP3: Bruce Peninsula - Crabapples
MP3: Bruce Peninsula - Shutters

Tags: Bruce Peninsula, A Mountain Is A Mouth, Review