North Carolina's Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill triangle lays claim to the country's most bipolar underground music scenes, unique in that it is so evenly divided between noise and punk music and roots and folk music that many artists alternate between both extremes. Representative of the scene is Heather McEntire, a songwriter who exorcises her demons through the scorching rage-rock of her band Bellafea while writing quieter, prettier songs for a project called Mount Moriah.
The later has been the more productive of the two groups this year. In March, Mount Moriah released a graceful, gospel-pop track called "Lament" through a free showcase compilation for the area label Holidays for Quince Records, which McEntire runs. The whole compilation is worth a listen, especially for those with a taste for both acoustic folk and sludge metal, but "Lament" is particularly winning:
This month Mount Moriah followed up that tune with the 12-inch record "The Letting Go," which is available for free streaming or $3 download here. Though it's just three songs, it's surprisingly varied. The intimate, relaxed demo "Reckoning" opens the set, giving way to the fuller, ambient folk of the title track. A live cut, "Telling the Hour," ends the record on a turbulent note, touching on the pained, terse guitars and fierce, emotive vocals of Bellafea. It's hard to imagine this kind of non-traditionalist Americana record coming from anywhere but North Carolina.
