Appreciation Post: The Microphones

*MP3: The Microphones - "The Pull"
*MP3: The Microphones - "I'll Not Contain You"
*MP3: The Microphones - "II. Solar System"

The Microphones are one of my all-time favorite bands. Frontman Phil Elvrum is one of the great minds to come out of the Pacific Northwest (Anacortez, Wash. originally). Elvrum released nine studio albums, the most notable of which were his last three: "It Was Hot, We Stayed In The Water" (2000, K Records), "The Glow, Pt. 2" (2001, K Records) and "Mount Eerie" (2003, K Records). "The Glow, Pt. 2" may ring a bell due to its recent reissue, as well as Pitchork's 9.2 rating of the record.

Elvrum excelled in the studio. He has a unique and imaginative way of creating records in that they sound both beautiful and terrible. Sonically, most would consider it lo-fi, however, what he does within the confines of lo-fi recording is astounding. At heart, his songs are simple pop songs written on an acoustic guitar, however, in the studio, Elvrum crafts them into larger-than life soundscapes of something both tangible and other-worldly. There is a lot of dichotomy in his work – happy while sad, light while dark – and this very division is what makes his music so engaging to me.

Elvrum wrote music under the moniker The Microphones until 2004 when he moved on to create music as Mount Eerie.

Buy all of his records on iTunes HERE.

(Ian Anderson)