''Mountainhead'' is the seventh studio album by British band

Everything Everything Everything Everything are an English art rock band from Manchester that formed in late 2007. Noted for their eclectic sound and complex, avant-garde-inspired lyrics, the band has released seven albums to date '' Man Alive (2010),'' '' Arc (2013 ...

. It was released on 1 March 2024 through BMG.

Background and theme

Their third release in the span of two years, following '' Raw Data Feel'' in 2022 and a reissue of their debut album '' Man Alive'' in 2023, Everything Everything announced ''Mountainhead'' on 26 October 2023. The band wrote, recorded and produced the project in

Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...

with the help of guitarist Alex Robertshaw. As opposed to their previous album which made use of

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

to create content, ''Mountainhead'' entirely avoids "plug-ins and effects". The "synthetic pop album" explores "notions of capitalism and social fracturing" from a futuristic point of view. Lead vocalist Jonathan Higgs explained that the album revolves around a simple concept, taking place in a fictional world "wherein all of society is consumed with the building of a giant mountain". However, the twist in the story is that the people would have to dig a deep hole and live in it in order to build the mountain. Furthermore, at the bottom of the pit lives a giant golden snake that they have to escape. It represents an "alternate society" where those at the bottom have to work relentlessly to keep the elite "elevated". According to Higgs, the goal was to create "an easy but strong metaphor" that can apply to multiple things. To him, a "mountainhead" signifies an individual that believes in continuous growth of a mountain "no matter the cost, and no matter how terrible it is to dwell in the great pit".

Promotion

In promotion of the album, the band embarked UK tour in March and April 2024, with festival appearances throughout the summer.

Track listing

Personnel

Everything Everything * Jonathan Higgs – lead vocals (all tracks), backing vocals (tracks 1–3, 5, 8–14),

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

(3, 5, 8, 9) * Jeremy Pritchard – bass (tracks 1–6, 8–14);

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

vocals, piano (2); backing vocals (4, 6, 11, 13, 14) * Michael Spearman – drums (tracks 1–6, 8–14), percussion (2–6, 8–14), backing vocals (13) * Alex Robertshaw –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

(all tracks); keyboards, synthesizer (tracks 1–6, 8–14); programming (2–6, 9),

e-bow The EBow is an electronic device used for playing string instruments, most often the electric guitar. It was invented by the American guitarist Greg Heet in 1969 and introduced in 1976. The EBow uses a pickup and a magnetic feedback circuit to ...

guitar (2), backing vocals (3, 6, 11), strings programming (7) Additional contributors * Tom A.D. Fuller – production,

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

(all tracks);

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

(tracks 1, 13, 14) * Frank Arkwright – mastering *

Cenzo Townshend Vincenzo "Cenzo" Capellini Townshend (born 25 March 1963) is an English record producer, mixer, and audio engineer, and has worked with artists and bands including the Rolling Stones, a-ha, Kaiser Chiefs, U2, Snow Patrol, Florence and the Machi ...

– mixing * Martin King – engineering

Charts

References

{{Everything Everything 2024 albums BMG Rights Management albums 2020s concept albums Everything Everything albums