MOUNTAIN MIRRORS are described, in their press release, as “dark, kaleidoscopic acoustic music for poets, travelers and seekers.” With that quote in mind, the only thing I was seeking after hearing this disc was the eject button. If you’re going to be that pretentious in describing your music, you better have the goods, so to speak. Does MOUTAIN MIRRORS have the goods? Almost.

Musically, this disc is actually quite decent. The moody guitars and nice ambient touches like piano, cello, and organ really save tracks like “Your Time Has Come,” “Deploribus Unum” and “Praying Mantis” from sounding like demos from the next DAYS OF THE NEW record. “Stay Evil,” in particular, has a really tasty synth solo that was quite a pleasant surprise. “Karmic Dogs” ends with some weird breathing effects that had me recalling the Friday the 13th movie theme music with a smile. Sadly, it’s the dry, awkwardly wavering vocals that keep MOUNTAIN MIRRORS from fulfilling their mission plan. Jeff Sanders’ voice is one half Aaron Lewis from STAIND, and one half the dude who did the soundtrack for the recent Curious George movie. Throw some reverb and/or some delay on this guy, and you might have a creepy presence worthy of the music, instead of the unconfident warbling that belies the darkness of the tunes.

Had this been a disc of instrumentals, we would have had the perfect music to get all high and introspective to. Hopefully, with even further experimentation, MOUNTAIN MIRRORS will be able to deliver that record to us one day.

- Broadbent

OFFICIAL SITE: myspace.com/mountainmirrors

MP3 SOUND SCRAP: The Demon's Eye

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