MT. DOUBT - SOAK

Regular readers will know that Edinburgh's Mt. Doubt is something of a favourite of this blog's. My Past Is A Quiet Beast is one of this year's outstanding debut albums and Mt Doubt's live performances add new layers to the intricacies of the recorded versions of the tracks, giving them a Springsteen/Eddie Vedder/The National hybrid feel that doesn't fail to impress.

Showing that they're not resting on any laurels, the band have released a new single Soak which is free to download from the Soundcloud link below. Soak starts off sounding more confident that Mt Doubt have ever sounded, combining a chopping guitar riff with Leo Bargery's standout vocals before opening up and welcoming you into a delightful chorus which adds a superb harmony and vocal from Annie Booth. Like all Mt Doubt's music there are many layers to explore here and it's yet more proof that Mt Doubt are onto something special.

Soak by Mt Doubt is out now and is available as a free download.

Mt Doubt Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MtDoubt/?fref=ts

NEW: MT. DOUBT - ASUNDER

Mt. Doubt are a band I've quickly grown to love having been converted to them following the release of their debut album My Past Is A Quiet Beast (review here). The band's powerful live performance at August's Scottish Fiction Presents gig only added to my enthusiasm for the band and, like I said in the review of that gig (here), Mt. Doubt are surely on the verge of something very special indeed.

Today, the band have released a new video for the track Asunder, a Radiohead meets The National tower of brooding melody that will grab you straight away and keep you coming back again and again. Have a look below

Head to Mt. Doubt's Soundcloud page to download Asunder and the rest of Mt. Doubt's catalogue - you won't regret it

Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/mtdoubt

MT. DOUBT - MY PAST IS A QUIET BEAST

Mt. Doubt is a solo project by Edinburgh based musician Leo Bargery and his debut album My Past Is A Quiet Beast is something rather special. Mixing introspective lyrics with large scale sounds, think a mix of Radiohead, Arcade Fire and The National, My Past Is A Quiet Beast is a really impressive and confident debut with much promise.

Opener Beast is a slow building, brooding affair, with the phrase "My past is a quiet beast"  repeated throughout, building to a power ending that certainly sounds cathartic for Bargery. The next track Feathers is the opposite of Beast,  all pop and melody and really quite brilliant. It's my stand out track from the album and one you'll certainly want to hear (listen below). Slump displays the darker side of Mt Doubt again, before Bend Sinister lets some light back in albeit in the dark yet optimistic way The National handle their lighter moments. It's been said many times already by those who've heard Mt. Doubt, but there is definitely something of the Matt Berninger in the way Bergary delivers his vocals and that's of course no bad thing at all.

Fans of this blog and the Almost Scottish Fiction releases will already be familiar with the excellent Bend which featured on the third e.p. (here) and the track works beautifully when heard in its album setting. Dancing Phantoms and  I Break Spirit follow Bend and both are atmospheric slices of dark indie pop and they lead to the swirling, gripping Telmessos which, like many tracks here sounds like it would be comfortably at home in some pretty big venues. The influence of The National is again felt on another of the album's stand outs Soft Wrists, before we end on Asunder, a rousing, joyous finale to what has been a hugely enjoyable album.

My Past Is A Quiet Beast really is an intriguing and rather wonderful debut and it deserves as much attention as it can possibly get. Highly recommended.

Mt. Doubt play live at The Hug & Pint, Glasgow on Tuesday 4 August headlining the Scottish Fiction Presents... gig. Tickets are £5 and are available from www.hugandpint.com

My Past Is A Quiet Beast is out now and is available on Mt. Doubt's Soundcloud page and on cd here http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ByLandCollective