Mount Eerie is the fourth studio album by American indie folk and indie rock band the Microphones, released by K Records on January 21, 2003. The album is named after the mountain Mount Erie near Anacortes, Washington, which is the hometown of Phil Elverum, the band's frontman. The album received generally positive reviews from critics, including accolades such as Pitchfork "Best New Music" title and inclusion on Treblezine list of "essential" psychedelic folk albums. Mount Eerie has been described by Elverum as being about mountains, earth and space. The album is a concept album, consisting of a linear narrative spanning its five songs. Elverum establishes a metaphor for life in which he depicts the womb, birth, and through to death, in the second-last track. His lyrics depict a cast of characters, while the music includes cinematic drums, choirs and drones. Sonically, the album is a continuation of The Glow Pt. 2 (2001), the previous studio album by the Microphones. After the release of Mount Eerie, Elverum adopted the Mount Eerie moniker, as the themes of his music had changed. The album was released along 2 EPs, The Singing from Mount Eerie and The Drums from Mount Eerie, featuring isolated tracks from the album. After its release, Elverum felt that the ending of Mount Eerie narrative was inconclusive, leading him to release the sequel Mount Eerie pts. 6 & 7 in 2007. Recording and background Mount Eerie was named after the mountain Mount Erie near Anacortes, Washington. Elverum explained: "from where I grew up, the south side, [the mountain] has a pretty dramatic rock face, and so it was always looming there, especially from where I caught the school bus". Mount Eerie was recorded between November 21, 2001 and June 10, 2002 at Dub Narcotic Studios in Olympia, Washington. 2 sections of the album, labelled "Big Black Death" and "Wind / Vultures" are solely attributed to Kyle Field and Karl Blau respectively. "Wind / Vultures" was recorded at Quatro-Syncho in Trafton Lake, Washington. Elverum describes Mount Eerie as "a continuation of the sound that concludes The Glow Pt. 2", the Microphones' previous studio album. "I. The Sun" was sonically tied to the closer of The Glow Pt. 2, "My Warm Blood", using the foghorn tape sound that concludes "My Warm Blood". Elverum used different vocalists to represent different characters because he wanted the album to be more ambiguous and theatrical. He