Any gig featuring Perth band Mt. Mountain is sure to be a cosmic trip.
The psychedelic rockers have been getting a lot of love for their adventurous tunes, sometimes in surprising ways as drummer Tom Cahill recounts.
“It’s been pretty interesting because the community radio station in Perth, RTRFM, they’ve played us a fair few times.
“It’s been quite funny tuning in and they're playing the whole 17-minute song, which would take up a bit of the radio programming for the day.
"The intro goes pretty long, so sometimes they just fade it in. But usually they play the whole thing, which is very nice of them.”
The five-piece released their debut album ‘Cosmos Terros’ in 2016, followed by 2017’s ‘Dust’. The latter features 4 songs across 40 minutes, capturing the atmosphere of the dusty red and orange landscapes of the Australian outback the band often drives across.
Now the band is gearing up to release another album, continuing their streak of an album per year. “To us, it doesn’t really seem quick,” Tom says.
“It’s just what’s been happening throughout the year and then the result is the album. We’re working in year-long blocks and then at the end of it recording all the songs we have and then putting them all on to an album.”
In anticipation for the new album, Mt. Mountain has released the single ‘Cathedral’.
While sharing the same, fuzzy, psychedelic sound as their past releases, ‘Cathedral’ sees the band stepping in a different direction.
“It’s quite funny because ‘Cathedral’ is about six minutes [long] and I think it might be the longest song [on the album]. It wasn’t a conscious thought. The songs just happened in the jam room. It's new ground for us,” he laughs.
“We decided to release it as a single because it sounds a little bit different to the rest of the album. Sonically it sounds pretty similar, but it’s probably one of the faster songs on the record. It was also the first song we wrote for this album as well, so it seems fitting we put it out as the first single.”
The band will tour the country in support of ‘Cathedral’ including a show at Brisbane’s The Bearded Lady.
Tom is especially looking forward to this show because they get to play with Brisbane rockers Dreamtime. “We’ve been trying and wanting to do some stuff with them for the last year and a half, so it’s really good to get them involved.
"We’re definitely glad that they could play this time around and hopefully we can do some more stuff with them in the future.”
Mt. Mountain’s third album is currently being mixed and will be released soon. Although it’s early days, the band is hoping to continue their streak of releasing an album per year.
It’s an impressive feat, but Tom thinks it’s nothing compared to some of his friends. “We’re good friends with King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, and it’s pretty funny every time they come through Perth to talk to them about their schedule for releasing five albums in one year.
"It’s pretty different to our process of one album a year. I think two is our maximum. Five is crazy.”
Mt Mountain Tour Dates
Sat 20 Jan - The Bird (Perth)Thu 25 Jan - Grace Emily Hotel (Adelaide)
Fri 26 Jan - The Bearded Lady (Brisbane)
Sat 27 Jan - The Curtin Band Room (Melbourne)
