Mt Went - Sheltering Sky (2021) Hi-Res

Mt Went is the collaborative project between Andy Cartwright (Seabuckthorn) and Dave Anderson (Von Braun). Mt Went is two friends from different musical pursuits, who have managed to create two well-crafted and beautifully weathered indie albums over the last ten years.

Even though nearly a decade lapsed between the making of 'Sheltering Sky' and 'Lit Way Down' the two albums feel inextricably linked to one another. 'Sheltering Sky' was recorded back in 2010 when Cartwright and Anderson still lived in same small UK town, Witney, Oxfordshire. Yet it has never seen a proper release and sat unattended for nearly a decade until Cartwright revisited the sessions in 2018 to give them a proper polish. While doing so, both Anderson and Cartwright rekindled a fondness for the material and decided a follow-up was in order. That follow-up became 'Lit Way Down,' an album built from many long distance file swaps in the increasingly rare moments of downtime, with Cartwright now living in the French Alps and Anderson still in the UK.

Vocal music always presents a challenge for us to describe. Sure, comparing it to more popular artists in the genre might come easier, but how to convey what we love about Mt Went and what sets it apart from much of what we hear in the indie/folk/alternative scene becomes the task.

Not sure if it's the isolation talking, but the patient minimal strums of Cartwright acoustic guitar combined with Anderson's fragile, moderately tortured vocal delivery has these songs feeling more vital than ever. To note, Anderson and Cartwright do trade off lead guitar responsibilities throughout the two albums. Yet, the duo’s playing styles mesh together so well that it becomes nearly impossible to discern.

Of course, we'll address the elephant in the room. There are times where Anderson's singing hits Thom Yorke directly on the nose. Though, what the hell is wrong with that, if Yorke decided to lock away in a cabin and create a stripped-down, ragged folk album... would anyone complain? Spend some quality time with 'Sheltering Sky' and 'Lit Way Down' and most all comparisons will fade. Anderson's sly storytelling and downcast murmurations, along with Cartwright's lulling drone-informed framework and dry desert production, these albums should become the stuff of legend.