When We Were Mountains, emerging from a lineup of notable Portland contributors from The Standard and Iretsu declaring themselves Loch Lomond, is a disk of interestingly varied proportions without boundaries and full of high expectations for itself.

Worthy of a listen for anyone willing to embrace or overlook a few small moments of canned drum machine laying heavy and cumbersome over some stellar moments of songwriting perhaps more befitting a traditional live band, when the music is on (try the end of “Canadian Shield” or standout track “Whatafall”) you are suspended in a world of haunting redundancy that takes you far away.

Most notable are the understated vocals, at times both desperate and decided, which maneuver with appreciated effort amongst thoughtful lyrics.

If not the most consistent disc, somehow each song plays into the next without so much as a hiccup and you feel the full extent of this band’s potential realized at the twilight of the CD as the beautiful “Del Fuego” folds into “Salt the Air” and you feel grateful for having given a listen. – (6.5/10) (0) Comments