Sometimes you hear a song or an album that you know is extraordinary, somehow obviously deeply felt, one of those pieces that come from somewhere deep in the artist.
A few listens to The Acorns ‘Glory, Hope, Mountain’ triggered those sorts of feelings without really having absorbed or understood the lyrics. An album that is a folkie-indie affair, slightly ramshackle, a plethora of picked guitars and banjos, occasional spacey blips with fragile vocals and harmonies, a mash-up of music from other cultures.
Although I didn’t get to it until 2009 this is definitely another or those ‘interior’ bands and albums that typified 2008 for me. Music that is intimate, close and personal, private and delicate.
All these sentiments are magnified when you learn that Glory Hope Mountain is dedicated to the life of Gloria Esperanza Montoya (Glory Hope Mountain) who is the mother of Rolf Klausener the lead voice and songwriter.
Gloria has lead an extraordinary life: nearly dying at birth, orphaned in Honduras, leaving at 12, ending up in Canada, nearly drowning in a flood, a husband who died with brain cancer and so on and so forth. Klausener knew none of these details until his mother talked it all out with him, resulting in this album. More details can be found in several places including at Pitchfork.
The "Music Always Gives Me A Lift" Blog 