Lost Wisdom | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 7, 2008 | |||
Recorded | Anacortes, Washington | |||
Genre | Indie folk, lo-fi | |||
Length | 24:34 | |||
Label | P. W. Elverum & Sun (ELV 019/38) | |||
Mount Eerie chronology | ||||
| ||||
Mount Eerie studio album chronology | ||||
| ||||
Julie Doiron chronology | ||||
| ||||
Frederick Squire chronology | ||||
| ||||
Limited edition album cover | ||||
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, [1] [2] 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.
Elverum considers Doiron his favorite singer, [1] and says recording with her was a "dream come true" for him. [2] She was a member of Eric's Trip,an indie noise pop band from the early 1990s,and has since recorded numerous solo albums. Elverum considers Eric's Trip his favorite band of all time,and says the band is "the reason why I got into playing music". [2] Frederick Squire is a Canadian rock singer,songwriter and guitarist. Formerly a member of Shotgun &Jaybird,he would perform under the stage name Dick Morello. [3]
The recording of the album was somewhat spontaneous. Doiron and Squire had a few days between a recent tour and an upcoming recording session in Olympia,Washington, [2] and made a surprise visit to Phil Elverum in Anacortes. [1] Initially they were just recording for fun without the pretense of recording an album. [4] Elverum eventually did ask the two to record an album, [2] the three decided to do so and quickly recorded the album.
The album is named after the Burzum song of the same title. [5]
The title track was inspired by Elverum's time spent:
Driving through northeast Oregon and Idaho alone in the middle of the night, thinking about what that Burzum song title could mean, without really even knowing the Burzum song at all. Thinking about how depressing it is that all we learn in our lives is lost and misunderstood by posterity no matter what. Also how even within our lives we quickly forget important lessons learned. [5]
The song was written while driving at night. [5] A different version of the song "With My Hands Out" appears on Mount Eerie's 2004 release Seven New Songs , and other tracks later appeared on Dawn , released on 1 November 2008. Though the versions found on Dawn are actually the original versions of those songs written in 2002 and recorded in 2008. [4] The track "Voice in Headphones" on this album reprises the chorus from Björk's song "Undo", over a different verse. [4] Elverum had previously covered Björk's "All Is Full of Love" on the 2001 Microphones album Blood .
Due to the impromptu nature of the recording session Elverum didn't intend to release the album. [4] The album was however released on October 7 on LP and CD, the vinyl version included a double-sided jumbo poster. The album was re-released in 2019 in a double CD set alongside companion album Lost Wisdom pt. 2. [6]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 82/100 [7] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [8] |
Crawdaddy! | (favorable) [9] |
Dusted | (favorable) [10] |
Pitchfork Media | 8.3/10 [11] |
Spectrum Culture | 3.5/5.0 [12] |
Sputnikmusic | [13] |
Tiny Mix Tapes | [14] |
Popmatters | [15] |
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 82, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 8 reviews. [7]
Heather Phares of AllMusic wrote that despite the fast time to create the album "its simplicity and immediacy sound intimate instead of tossed off" she also complimented the chemistry between Elverum and Doiron writing that "He and Doiron sound completely natural yet haunting trading verses". [8]
All tracks are written by Phil Elverum
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Lost Wisdom" | 4:14 |
2. | "Voice in Headphones" | 2:16 |
3. | "You Swan, Go On" | 1:25 |
4. | "Who?" | 2:24 |
5. | "Flaming Home" | 2:29 |
6. | "What?" | 2:06 |
7. | "If We Knew..." | 1:37 |
8. | "With My Hands Out" | 1:39 |
9. | "O My Heart" | 3:17 |
10. | "Grave Robbers" | 1:47 |
Total length: | 24:34 |
LOST WISDOM live at Gunjyo, March 12th, 2010 | |
---|---|
Live album by Mount Eerie | |
Released | July 4, 2012 |
Venue | Gunjyo, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan |
Genre | Indie Folk |
Length | 24:56 |
Label | 7e.p. |
On July 4, 2012 Tokyo based label 7e.p. released a live album of Lost Wisdom in its entirety entitled LOST WISDOM live at Gunjyo, March 12th, 2010. The album was recorded at Gunjyo, Matsumoto by Koji Saito. Mastering was done by Masaki Tada. The album was released as a bonus disc for "Clear Moon / Ocean Roar". [16]
All tracks are written by Phil Elverum
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Lost Wisdom" | 4:10 |
2. | "Voice in Headphones" | 2:06 |
3. | "You Swan, Go On" | 1:34 |
4. | "Who?" | 2:44 |
5. | "Flaming Home" | 2:45 |
6. | "What?" | 2:23 |
7. | "If We Knew..." | 2:11 |
8. | "With My Hands Out" | 2:10 |
9. | "O My Heart" | 3:24 |
10. | "Grave Robbers" | 1:29 |
Total length: | 24:56 |
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.
Julie Elaine Doiron is a Canadian singer-songwriter of Acadian heritage. She has been the bass guitarist and co-vocalist for the Canadian indie rock band Eric's Trip since its formation in 1990. She has released ten solo albums, beginning with 1996's Broken Girl, and is also the lead singer for the band Julie and the Wrong Guys.
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".
"No Flashlight": Songs of the Fulfilled Night is the debut 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.
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.
Don't Wake Me Up is the debut studio album by American musical project the Microphones. It was released by K Records on August 24, 1999, and reissued on vinyl via P.W. Elverum & Sun on April 16, 2013. The album was recorded between April 25, 1998, and March 1, 1999, in studios in Olympia and Anacortes, Washington.
Seven New Songs of "Mount Eerie" is the debut EP by Mount Eerie, released on June 1, 2004.
Eleven Old Songs of Mount Eerie is an album by Mount Eerie written during Elverum's stay in Finnkonevika hyette, Norway in the winter of 2002/2003 and recorded in Anacortes in the winter of 2004. The only instrument present on the album is a Casiotone keyboard.
Dawn, also known as Dawn: Winter Journal, is the third full-length album by Mount Eerie. It was officially released November 1, 2008 on P. W. Elverum & Sun.
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".
Frederick Squire is a Canadian rock singer, songwriter and guitarist. Originally from Ajax, Ontario, he is based in Sudbury following a number of years living in Sackville, New Brunswick.
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.
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.
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".