| After | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | September 21, 2018 | |||
| Recorded | November 10, 2017 | |||
| Venue | The Jacobikerk in Utrecht, Netherlands | |||
| Genre | Indie folk | |||
| Length | 58:13 | |||
| Label | P.W. Elverum & Sun | |||
| Producer | Phil Elverum | |||
| Mount Eerie chronology | ||||
| ||||
After (stylized as (after)) is a live album by Mount Eerie, released in 2018. The album captures a live performance of songs from A Crow Looked at Me and Now Only recorded at the 2017 Le Guess Who? festival in the Netherlands. [1]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 86/100 [2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Exclaim! | 8/10 [4] |
| Pitchfork | 8.1/10 [5] |
| Tiny Mix Tapes | 5/5 [6] |
Upon release, the album received critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from music critics, the album has received an average score of 86, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 7 reviews. [7]
In a positive review, Heather Phares of AllMusic wrote that the album "continues the evolution of these songs as layered expressions of grief, realization and love" and praised the live element writing that "Taking in each song as a discrete entity allows different moments to break listeners' hearts". [3] Ian Gormely of Exclaim! wrote that the album "finds its uniqueness not in the arrangements, but in the context of the presentation" and that "we have Elverum presenting some of the rawest emotions of his life". [4] Nathan Reese of Pitchfork stated that "the most striking thing about After is that, even after so many performances, these songs sound as raw as they did when Elverum first committed them to paper and tape". [5] Adam Rothbarth of Tiny Mix Tapes wrote that "this album is great. The guitar is heard clearly, and Elverum's voice comes through on top" and that "As a performance, it's impressive: Elverum switches between strumming chords and picking individual lines, and he does it all while effortlessly delivering his challenging lyrics and their imbalanced melodies." [6]
After was ranked number six on PopMatters list of the 20 best folk albums of 2018. [8]
All tracks are written by Phil Elverum
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Real Death" | 2:50 |
| 2. | "Seaweed" | 3:18 |
| 3. | "Ravens" | 7:02 |
| 4. | "When I Take Out the Garbage at Night" | 2:21 |
| 5. | "Emptiness Pt. 2" | 2:40 |
| 6. | "Soria Moria" | 6:19 |
| 7. | "Crow" | 2:19 |
| 8. | "Distortion" | 11:11 |
| 9. | "Now Only" | 5:57 |
| 10. | "Crow Pt. 2" | 7:09 |
| 11. | "Remarks" | 0:36 |
| 12. | "Tintin in Tibet" | 6:25 |
| Total length: | 58:13 | |
The Microphones were an American indie folk, indie rock, and experimental project from Olympia, Washington. The project was founded in 1996 and ended in 2003, with a short reunion following in 2007 and revivals in 2019 and 2020. Across every iteration of the Microphones, it has been fronted by Phil Elverum. Elverum is the principal songwriter and producer behind the band's albums, but he has also collaborated with other local musicians on his other recordings and tours. Many of Elverum's recordings from the project's initial period were released by the label K Records.
Mount Eerie is the musical project of American songwriter and producer Phil Elverum. Elverum is the principal member of the band, but has collaborated with many other musicians on his records and in live performances. Most of Mount Eerie's releases have been issued on Elverum's label P.W. Elverum & Sun, Ltd., and feature highly detailed packaging with his own artwork.
Philip Whitman Elverum is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and visual artist, best known for his musical projects The Microphones and Mount Eerie. Based in Anacortes, Washington, in the mid-2000s he began to spell his surname Elvrum as "Elverum".
The Glow Pt. 2 is the third studio album by American indie folk and indie rock project the Microphones. It was released on September 11, 2001, through K Records and later through P.W. Elverum & Sun, Ltd. Recording was done on analog equipment at Dub Narcotic, Olympia, Washington, from May 2000 to March 2001. The album takes influences from numerous music genres such as black metal, ambient and avant-garde, as well as non-musical sources like the American drama television show Twin Peaks and primary member Phil Elverum's relationship to Khaela Maricich. Elverum was responsible for the album's production in its entirety.
"No Flashlight": Songs of the Fulfilled Night is the first studio album released by the band Mount Eerie. It was released on the 9th May 2005 and features appearances by Geneviève Castrée and Jason Wall.
It Was Hot, We Stayed in the Water, sometimes shortened to It Was Hot, is the second studio album by American indie folk and indie rock band the Microphones. It was released by K Records on September 26, 2000. After Phil Elverum—the frontman, principal songwriter, and producer of the Microphones's albums—had gained a small following with 1999's Don't Wake Me Up, he recorded It Was Hot in Dub Narcotic Studio in Olympia, Washington, between September 1999 and March 2000. The album was recorded on analogue tape; Elverum embraced the medium's technical imperfections. The album was described as indie rock, lo-fi, and indie pop and was inspired by Elverum's visits to the ocean. As a whole, the album centers on the theme of water, while its lyricism is heavily themed on nature. The 11-minute track "The Glow" acts as the album's climax and introduces the concept of the "glow", which was explored in more depth on 2001's The Glow Pt. 2.
Mount Eerie is the fourth studio album by American indie folk and indie rock band the Microphones, released by K Records on January 21, 2003. The album is named after the mountain Mount Erie near Anacortes, Washington, which is the hometown of Phil Elverum, the band's frontman. The album received generally positive reviews from critics, including accolades such as Pitchfork's "Best New Music" title and inclusion on Treblezine's list of "essential" psychedelic folk albums.
Lost Wisdom is the second studio album by Mount Eerie, with Canadian musicians Julie Doiron and Frederick Squire. It was released on October 7, 2008 on P. W. Elverum & Sun, less than a month before Elverum's next album under the Mount Eerie name, Dawn, was released, which featured songs from this album. A follow-up album, Lost Wisdom pt. 2, was released in 2019, without Frederick Squire.
Black Wooden Ceiling Opening is an EP released by Mount Eerie. It was released on March 4, 2008. The EP was described by singer Phil Elverum as "black metal using natural materials".
Wind's Poem is the fourth full-length album by Mount Eerie, released on July 14, 2009. Several of the tracks are inspired by black metal, and showcases Phil Elverum's "relatively newfound affinity for Xasthur and other lynchpins of the unholy genre."
Clear Moon is the fifth studio album by Mount Eerie, a solo project by American musician Phil Elverum. It was released May 22, 2012 on Elverum's own label P.W. Elverum & Sun. The album was written and produced entirely by Elverum, who recorded it at his studio the Unknown.
Ocean Roar is the sixth studio album by Mount Eerie, released on August 29, 2012. It is the second of two albums released by Mount Eerie in 2012.
Sauna is the seventh full-length album by Mount Eerie. It was released on February 3, 2015.
A Crow Looked at Me is the eighth studio album by Mount Eerie, a solo project of the American musician Phil Elverum. Released in 2017, it was composed in the aftermath of his 35-year-old wife Geneviève Castrée's diagnosis with pancreatic cancer in 2015, and her death in July 2016. Elverum wrote and recorded the songs over a six-week period in the room where she died, mostly using her instruments. His sparse lyrics and minimalistic musical accompaniment drew influence from a broad range of artists, including the poet Gary Snyder, author Karl Ove Knausgård and songwriter Julie Doiron.
Now Only is the ninth studio album by Mount Eerie, the solo project of American musician Phil Elverum. It was released on March 16, 2018, on Elverum's record label P.W. Elverum & Sun. Like the preceding Mount Eerie album A Crow Looked at Me, Now Only is a concept album in the aftermath of the death of Elverum's wife, the cartoonist and musician Geneviève Castrée; Elverum described it as the second part of that album. The album was entirely written and produced by Elverum, and recorded in the room in which Castrée died.
Lost Wisdom pt. 2 is the second collaborative studio album by Mount Eerie and Julie Doiron. It was released on November 8, 2019. Like the previous two Mount Eerie albums it concerns the death of Geneviève Castrée, the first wife of Mount Eerie's principal member Phil Elverum, as well as his recent divorce from Michelle Williams. The album is a sequel to the 2008 collaborative album Lost Wisdom.
Pre-Human Ideas is a compilation album released by Phil Elverum under the name Mount Eerie, on November 12, 2013. The album consists of computerised versions of songs from his 2012 releases Clear Moon and Ocean Roar, plus 2 organ excerpts from the songs "Pale Lights" and "The Place Lives" from Clear Moon and Ocean Roar respectively.
Song Islands vol. 2 is a compilation album by Mount Eerie. It was released on October 19, 2010. It is a sequel to the Microphones album Song Islands.
Microphones in 2020 is the fifth and final studio album by American indie folk and indie rock band the Microphones. It is the Microphones' first release in 17 years, following 2003's Mount Eerie. It was released on August 7, 2020, on frontman Phil Elverum's record label P.W. Elverum & Sun.
The Microphones were an American indie folk, indie rock, and experimental band, founded and fronted by Phil Elverum. The band has released 5 studio albums, 13 miscellaneous albums, 3 extended plays, and 8 singles. Elverum began the Microphones initially as a solo project, releasing cassette demos of tests and experiments. Between 1996 and 1998, Elverum released four demos, mostly on Bret Lunsford's label Knw-Yr-Own. The CD Tests, released in June 1998, was a compilation album comprising tracks from previous cassettes. The same year, the band released the 7" single "Bass Drum Dream". The band's first studio album, Don't Wake Me Up, was released on K Records in August 1999 and gave the band a small following. Two more 7-inches were released in 1999: "Feedback " and "Moon Moon".