If nothing else, no one can accuse Moving Mountains of putting out the same record over and over again.
Across their three full-lengths, the Purchase, NY outfit visits many of the same sonic touchstones without ever repeating themselves. Their self-titled draws from the same wells of post rock, emo, and indie, but with a marked maturity.
A lot changed in the four years between Pneuma and Moving Mountains’ second record.
Most notably, what was once a studio-only two-piece was now a proper full band. And it shows. Compositionally, Waves has a heft that its predecessor lacked. But that comes at a little bit of a cost.
The marriage of post rock and post hardcore shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone. After all, the roots of each are closely intertwined: post rock godfathers Slint came out of the punk and hardcore scene of early 90s Kentucky. Unwed Sailor was founded out of the husk of Tooth & Nail post hardcore outfit Roadside Monument.
But still, when the horns and glockenspiels of “Aphelion” give way to screamed vocals and pounding chords, it’s a bit of a surprise. And as this record continues to weave between the purest forms of each genre, it doesn’t get any less unexpected.