Other Music alumnus Koen Holtkamp and longtime collaborator Brendon Anderegg recorded “Etching” in one take, real time, to release as a CD-R for their national tour behind “Choral.” It's a sublime and intriguing record, near-impossible to decipher exactly what was where and when, with layers of organ, synthesizer and acoustic guitar processed on the fly. A unique gem, and one of Mountains' best. For fans of Popol Vuh and Fennesz to name a few.

Other Music alumnus Koen Holtkamp and longtime collaborator Brendon Anderegg recorded Etching in one take, real time, to release as a CD-R for their national tour behind their exquisite Thrill Jockey debut, Choral. (Thrill Jockey would also release Etching not long after as a very limited vinyl pressing.) It's a sublime and intriguing record, near-impossible to decipher exactly what was where and when, with layers of organ, synthesizer and acoustic guitar, processed on the fly, and I am in awe that there are no overdubs here. This kind of pastoral electonica elicits direct comparisons to 1970s German bands like Popol Vuh and Harmonia, but that is just a leaping-off point in Mountains' musical genome. Add in touches of Fennesz and Stars of the Lid and you begin to fill in the holes. Etching feels more sprawling and reaching than the duo's earlier work, living and breathing in the most organic, satisfying way. The first part of Etching is built around acoustic guitar and gently layered until it becomes something much more, while the latter half delivers a wall of light and fuzzy drone, drawn out and shimmering, continuing in more directions at once than might be tracked.

-Brian Cassidy (February 22, 2010)