Perth has become a home for the world of psychedelic music, birthing the likes of Tame Impala and Pond.
But on a humid Australia Day (26 January), Brisbane’s The Bearded Lady became the new centre when Perth’s psych warriors Mt. Mountain launched their new single ‘Cathedral’.
Local psychedelic crew The Flamingo Jones opened, signalling their arrival with a long, sustained guitar note. The rest of the six-piece faded in with splashes of keys, bass and cymbals, and a tambourine shaking like a rattlesnake’s tail signalling oncoming danger.
Quick pauses made me wonder whether their set was one song. Whether it was or not, it was an unpredictable journey filled with peaks, troughs, bends and grooves.
An appropriate choice was made for local rockers Dreamtime to perform with a projection of the 1925 film ‘The Lost World’ over them. Opening with synth noises and drones, their heavy grooves fit the projected scenes perfectly; a fight scene between Tyrannosauruses provided the best metaphor for their gargantuan riffs.
Fans were going full blast to keep the venue cool, but Mt. Mountain brought too much heat. Riffs blazed and shook like visions from a mirage. The vocals of Stephen Bailey cried out among the swirling chaos surrounding him, echoing across the room.
Click here to read our January 2018 interview with Mt. Mountain.
New single ‘Cathedral’ was aired, sounding bigger than the small performance space. The tune was a tower of fuzz and manic drums built upon a grooving bass. Wah pedals worked overtime, turning the tune into a sonic madness.
Due to a late start, Mt. Mountain finished past midnight. Set times said they would finish at 'Oblivion'.
It turned out oblivion wasn’t a finishing time but a destination, and they took us there with closing track ‘Elevation’. The riff grew in size throughout and the music became more manic with each passing minute. The remaining crowd were overwhelmed, with one’s dancing resembling uncontrollable convulsing.
As their last note rang out, a cool wind could be felt filling in for the breath of fresh air that was Mt. Mountain.
The band have a new album in the works and I’ll be ready to take it in all over again when they return.
