everest - ghost notes

Everest has quite a pedigree: The press release points out that its members have played with bands such as Sebadoh, the Folk Implosion, Earlimart, Mike Stinson, Slydell, John Vanderslice, and the Watson Twins. Ghost Notes, it continues, was recorded in Elliot Smith’s New Monkey Studios. What it fails to mention is: (1) it’s not the room that makes the music, and (2) maybe there’s a reason these guys aren’t with those other bands anymore. If you had to categorize Everest you’d have to call them an alt-country band, but that’s not true either. I’m sure they were aiming for an easygoing vibe that showed their sensitive songwriter side, but the album never quite reaches anything remotely interesting. “Rebels in the Roses” and “Into Your Soft Heart” show the most potential to deliver on the promise of something ear-catching, but the album quickly devolves into wearisome, generic, overdone adult-contemporary songwriting. If you have any albums by Ryan Adams, you’ve got all you need. Ghost Notes might seem like a nice adventure upon first hearing, but it’s more a molehill than a mountain.

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