'Miracle Temple' is the second album from North Carolina alt-country connoisseurs MOUNT MORIAH, but it's their debut for new label Merge.
The record sees the four-strong collaboration reworking most of mainstream country's familiar conventions, subtly and with superlative style. Marginalising such instruments as pedal-steel and conventional fiddle, they thus do away with any tongue-in-cheek pretensions on their way to creating a sound that's stripped-down, sincere, and paradoxically massive.
Heart-twanging opener 'Younger Days' flows like a river (no it does!), before the fuzzed out downbeat distortion and surging vocals of 'Bright Light' truly set the pattern of the record. Later, the Beatle-melodic grace of breathtaking ballad 'I Built A Town' and the compulsive charm of 'Rosemary' also sparkle amongst the plethora of 'gem' tracks making up the dozen.
At the forefront throughout, Heather McEntire embraces the spotlight; her astonishing vocal talents are the undoubted spearhead of an offensive that also features the wonderfully understated brilliance of guitarist and co-writer Jenks Miller. Bassist Casey Toll is the third permanent member of the line-up, with drummer James Wallace also responsible for the keys
In places it's reminiscent of peak-era 10,000 MANIACS, but there's absolutely no denying the straight-up Country-steeped origins of the music. 'Memphis' gets a mention in the lyrics no less than five or six minutes into the album, whilst 'From Connecticut To California' is a dead giveaway, with every pair of wistful eyes firmly fixed on the big 'ole horizon.
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Slow-burning lead track 'Miracle Temple Holiness' glows distinctively at the heart of the record's overall epic feel, whilst 'Union Street Bridge' seems to subtly champion the liberating power of freedom of thought at the heart of the conservative South.
Cymbal crashing epic 'Telling The Hour' provides the massive, if melancholy finale. Huge harmonies and auspicious piano drive Miller's classic valve distortion to breaking point, providing the necessarily large-scale cacophony for the drop-outs to be dramatic, As a parting shot, it's the ultimate reminder of MOUNT MORIAH'S determination to remain focused on life's bigger picture.
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