I Already Took That...

look in the book...

Pointless musical trivia: Pink Mountaintops' members come from the same collective of artists that form Vancouver's Black Mountain -- which also produced the indelible Lightning Dust outfit. It's like a gift that keeps giving. I've already broken down some of Lightning Dust's and Black Mountain's previous work, and as much as I appreciated some elements of their music, Pink Mountaintops seem to take the best of both groups, with folk-inflected and sometimes plodding rock music, along with more uptempo jaunts and cathedral filling wails.

"Execution" and "Vampire" are the singles already released from Pink Mountaintops' album Outside Love, and I knew what to expect from those songs having already heard them, but when I delved into the album itself, I was pleasantly surprised with one track in particular. "Holiday"is outfitted with harmonica, tinkles, acoustic guitar, and a campfire melody -- something that's a bit of a change of pace for a group with its feet well-set in the comforts of straightforward rock and dreamy psychedelia. I mean, I'm talking like I'd toast s'mores to this tune.

Pink Mountaintops - Holiday

It's actually a pretty mournful song in lyrical content, lamenting friends who have left "on holiday," and preaching about bastards and cowards, but you'd never guess from the sea-shanty-like sway of the thing, drowned in expressive yet almost monotonous singing. In view of the Peaches-sounding guitars and garage-rock drums of cuts like "The Gayest Of Sunbeams" (yes, you read that right) and ballroom twirls of "Come Down," Pink Mountaintops certainly make use of the many musical styles they have under their belts, and are no worse for it. The whole album still sounds like a whole piece, with good flow from start to finish and a good number of strong tracks.

Look at that. I set out to write a little snippet about "Holiday," and I ended up with a mini album review on Outside Love. But it felt organic and natural, a lot like Pink Mountaintops' music.