Big Sur – “Black Mountain”

The debut EP from Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau band Big Sur arrives just in time for the weather Stateside to start to sink towards frost. While the band’s moniker might conjure up images of California, the works on Black Mountain hew a bit closer to the ‘60s brit-folk of Pentagle, Fairport, or Trees. The EP captures the slight slip of folk towards jazz, sending them tumbling towards territory occupied by contemporaries Isla Craig and Anona. The EP’s title track finds the band at their most exploratory, building from stripped-down strums and plaintive plucks to a storm-tossed peak, saturated with sax. The song acts as the triumphant introduction to the band, and hopefully a taste of things to come. The EP is out now from Big Sur directly.