I got this wonderful seven-inch out of a tiny cardboard box on the merch table at a Make Believe show. Bobby Burg, the bass player of Make Believe was peddling some merchandise from his own Record Label along with all of the other goods Make Believe/Joan or Arc/ Owls/ Tim Kinsella have released. The box was filled with little records and CDs that didn’t look too appealing; but one of them had a big piece of paper attached to the top of it that said “ NEW MICROPHONES RECORD.” Seeing this I freaked out and made a grab for the box. This is what I found!

The record is on white vinyl and it very nicely designed by Phil Elverum. It has the song “Do Not Be Afraid” by Mount Eerie and “ I Love All You Guys Slow” by Love of Everything. For those of you who might be familiar with Mount Eerie’s current catalog,  “Do Not Be Afraid” is also featured on “Seven New Songs of Mount Eerie.” This version is live, longer, and has better lyrics. It was recorded in a church in Toronto with a full band that includes piano (played by I am Robot and Proud’s Shaw-Han Liem), oboe, euphonium, bass trombone, drums, guitar, and bass. However, you can’t really hear anything except the vocals, drums, and guitar, which is something that brings me down a little. Another thing that could stray listeners from calling this their “favoritest Mount Eerie song ever” is that Miss Genevieve Elverum’s vocals are so high and shrill in the mix (during the chorus) that it kind of pushes the limit on how much the human ear can handle. Like I said though, the lyrics are incredible and sung in a passionately strained shout not heard very often from Phil. Oh, haha, when the song starts Phil counts off and starts to play but Genevieve says “wait!” and he laughs through the first couple lyrics.

The Love of Everything song has Burgs’s boyish vocals over acoustic guitar, swirly synth sounds, and cymbal rolls. All of which are delightfully soft and quiet. This compliments the rocking Mount Eerie song on the other side. “ I Love All You Guys Slow” is a solid studio track much like the rest of TLOE’s catalog.

Distros are just starting to carry this record so start looking for it before they’re gone!

/sept 1st 2005/