By José Gandue @Gandour Archive photos Monte
Who knows why these kinds of things happen in the music industry? What they call "justice" doesn't exist around here, don't even try. But it's incredibly curious, and at the same time inappropriate, that a group like Mountain It doesn't occupy a privileged place among listeners of good rock in Latin America. Yes, at this point it sounds like a childish complaint, and I imagine more than one friend telling me «"We've discussed this before, you know how it is, that's the cruel music world, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera…". But every time I hear new material from this Costa Rican trio, I wonder Why does this band continue to occupy a odious category of hidden gem for most fans? and he does not go on to occupy a prominent place among the artists who know how to make well-rounded and vibrant songs throughout their entire career.
Since 2011, with their first EP, simply called Mountain, They began to fight back with loud, aggressive, yet direct and captivating work. Throughout this time they have released 10 albums, including singles, compilations, splits, and medium and long-form productions, And even seeing an evolution where over the years they have assimilated a calmer sound and at times closer to pop rock, they have never avoided experimentation, courage and the fine elaboration of melodies that remain with their audience immediately.
His latest work, V, with a cover reminiscent of old photos of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, It features 5 seemingly cheerful tunes, almost sonically optimistic, although later we discovered texts like:
«"There are lives I don't understand
Thirst disguised as kindness
Decisions, full days,
people who are truly suffering."»
These guys know how to deceive us; they draw us into a movie that we suspect will be rosy, and then they reveal their true intentions. His songs feature backing vocals that, with an initial sweetness, gradually convince us that things are not easy and that the corrosive nature of the message never lets up. If we were asked to choose the best moment of this recording, we would surely say it's the feeling of the deep ocean that you breathe during the five minutes of All these graves, The song that closes this album. This beautiful track, where the trio is joined by trombones and trumpets, is solid poetry throughout:
We receive so much that we remain thirsty
Carrying a weariness
We never sleep well
With a head in turmoil on pillows of anxiety
Trying to ignore all the things we do wrong
I need saints to intervene
Without faith that after so much
I'm going to feel good
All this need
These glass cages
All these graves
They cannot be avoided
They always want to dominate!
They want to divide the waters!
When in reality the sea drags them away
I said goodbye amidst singing
In short, I think I say this from time to time, but, I insist, it's good to state it emphatically on this occasion: Sometimes music is made to save the listener from everyday despair., And when it arrives just in time to lift our spirits, that's when we should be grateful, even if doubt about divinity prevails. Monte is a great band that deserves to be heard anywhere in this hemisphere, and surely by doing so, Many will find sounds they feel they've missed for a long time.
