EE's last record, 2022's Raw Data Feel, never really clicked with me despite generally being critically acclaimed and viewed as something fresh and new for the band by many. It stripped away a lot of organic grooves and progressive, linear song structures that characterised a lot of the bands older work, and replaced them with a much more rigid synth pop aesthetic and a smattering of glitch pop and alt dance stylings that felt more gimmicky than genuinely inventive. Similarly the core lyrical concept of the record focusing around AI generated lyrics and the messy, half formed narrative also came across rather gimmicky and almost a self-parody of the band's usual eccentric 'logical extremes' writing style.
Thankfully, Mountainhead is a return to form for the band, returning to a lot of the kinetic grooves and colourful sound pallets (with that menacing and uneasy undertone) that put the band on the map. I'd say its the closest sounding thing the band has made to their magnum opus, Get To Heaven, in the years since. The record, much like RDF, has a core concept and a semi-linear narrative; however it is much more clearly defined and thoroughly explored. The lead single, Cold Reactor, is essentially the blurb for the world the band has created on Mountainhead and captures the mood and tone of the record effortlessly. Mountainhead is a world where people try and climb the titular mountain by digging deep into the earth for materials to ascend, growing the mountain ever larger and the pit ever deeper. At the top sits only a mirror for those who mange to climb to the top, and at the bottom of the pit roams a giant golden serpent ready to consume those who fall too far in. Quite an obvious allegory for the modern capitalist world, but one that allows for some pretty evocative imagery and for the band's eccentricities to really flourish. Cold Reactor as a song is quite a straightforward driving new wave tune, but probably the bands best crack at that style, with dense lyrics that evoke strong feelings of loneliness and a desire for connection.
Wild Guess opens up the record in quite a ballsy way, with a minute and a half driving, fuzzed out guitar solo, before Jonathon Higg's vocals come swooning in like some deranged salesman, with rhetorical questions and telling us "this will be the most important thing you'll ever buy from us". It's not clearly painted out for us, but my interpretation of the song is that it is from the perspective of one of the 'Hellcat priests' within the lore of the album, a religious organisation who's end goal is to grow the mountain and keep believing in the cycle and that one day they will make it to the top themselves.
The second single, The Mad Stone, is more obviously from this perspective, and is sonically probably the most out there on the record. The track bounces between these weird 'plink plonky' verses and these massive multi-tracked choruses, it sounds like some deranged cult chant.
The rest of the first half is really consistent as well. The End of the Contender is quite a stark pop song that really focuses on the lyrics inspired by an incident where some armature boxer from the 70's got in a road rage incident and was acting as if he was some sort of celebrity, even though the other person had no idea who they were. The pulsating bass heavy groove and hazy guitars of Buddy, Come Over is very reminiscent of A Fever Dream, and the ear-catching lyric of "Elvis sitting dead on the toilet" really draws you into the moody and sinister atmosphere of the song. The snappy dance beat R U Happy? reminds me of what the band were trying to go for RDF, however feels much more natural and less gimmicky here, without the entire kitchen sink thrown in. TV Dog rounds out the first half with a simple string laden cut that we haven't really seen from the band since Arc. The weird reversed backing vocals sound really sinister and ominous.
While the first half is probably the most consistent 30 mins of music the group has made since Get To Heaven, the band settles into more predictable pop song writing into the second half, which makes the record feel a little lopsided overall. The skittering percussion and deep bass of Canary are juxtaposed against the delicate vocals and woozy lead guitar, which really sells the 'canary in the coal mine' themes of the song. Don't Ask Me To Beg features some really prominent vocal melodies set against a meaty alt dance groove. Dagger's Edge is the closest the record comes to that pure batshit energy of the likes of Blast Doors or Ivory Tower, but is honestly quite reserved in comparison. The song acts as sort of the turning point of the albums themes, from the perspective of someone who has made it to the top of the mountain, but is still not content, watching over his shoulder for people in this dog-eat-dog world and realising he could fall off the 'dagger's edge' at any time. It is the moment where the social commentary on the record turns to the listener and essentially tells us that the game of life presented through the mountain is ultimately all consuming and will never leave you fulfilled.
It does make the tone of the closing two tracks rather nihilistic and gives no real satisfying conclusion the the album. They're both quiet and reflective, and on their own are decent songs, but the placement as the album's final impression is quite unsatisfying. Following the revelations of Dagger's Edge, City Song is from the perspective of someone stuck in the corporate 9-5 where no-one in their company even knows their name. It is very OK Computer, but very mid-point OK Computer, before the rejection of that way of life on the last two songs of the album (Lucky and The Tourist). Everything Everything know this too, as on Get To Heaven, the insanity of that album was rejected in the last two songs, offering an alternative - hope. I do understand the creative decision behind this, its probably more realistic to say that there is no real escape from the mountain, but its certainly not a satisfying conclusion to the record and sours the experience overall; especially as Dagger's Edge was building towards that and it feels like a bait and switch.
Mountainhead has a lot going for it, the concept and narrative are solid and inventive, it features the return of the band's more progressive and challenging song writing. I just wish it went a little further, as the second half is nowhere near as ambitious as the first, and ended in a more satisfying way. But as it stands, it is a return to form that is certainly better than the band's last couple of records.
Top Tracks: Wild Guess, The End of the Contender, Cold Reactor, Buddy, Come Over, Mad Stone, TV Dog, Don't Ask Me To Beg, Dagger's Edge
7/10
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