''Now Only'' is the ninth studio album by

Mount Eerie Mount Eerie is the musical project of American songwriter and producer Phil Elverum. Elverum (also of the Microphones) is the principal member of the band, but has collaborated with many other musicians on his records and in live performances. ...

, the solo project of American musician

Phil Elverum Philip Whitman Elverum (; born May 26, 1978) is an American musician and songwriter known for his Independent music, indie bands the Microphones and Mount Eerie. Based in Anacortes, Washington, in the mid-2000s he began to spell his surname Elv ...

. It was released on March 16, 2018, on Elverum's

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

P.W. Elverum & Sun. Like the preceding Mount Eerie album ''

A Crow Looked at Me ''A Crow Looked at Me'' is the eighth studio album by Mount Eerie, a solo project of the American musician Phil Elverum. Released in 2017, it was composed in the aftermath of his 35-year-old wife Geneviève Castrée's diagnosis with pancreatic c ...

'', ''Now Only'' is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

in the aftermath of the death of Elverum's wife, the cartoonist and musician

Geneviève Castrée Geneviève Elverum ( Gosselin; April 9, 1981 – July 9, 2016), also known as Geneviève Castrée, was a Canadian cartoonist, illustrator, and musician from Quebec. An early admirer of comics, she began creating them at a young age. L'Oie de Cra ...

; Elverum described it as the second part of that album. The album was entirely written and produced by Elverum, and recorded in the room in which Castrée died. The album departs from ''A Crow Looked at Me's'' raw and intimate style of writing, intending, instead, to answer grander and more introspective questions about Elverum's life after Castrée's death. Lyrically, the album focuses on themes of the aftermath of death and the lingering ghostly presence of the deceased. It continues the use of direct lyricism and nearly spoken delivery, first seen in ''A Crow Looked at Me. Now Only'' is musically similar to ''A Crow Looked at Me'', although its songs are longer and feature some more diverse instrumentation. To promote the album, he released the singles "Distortion" on January 17, 2018, and "Tintin in Tibet" on February 20, 2018, and undertook tours of North America and Europe. ''Now Only'' was an immediate and widespread critical success; critics discussed the perceived sense of sadness and hope found in the album. It appeared on multiple year-end lists. Elverum's subsequent album '' Lost Wisdom Pt. 2'' (2019) served as a continuation; furthering the themes of Castrée's illness and death.

Background and composition

In 2015, four months after the birth of their first child,

's wife, Canadian cartoonist and musician

, was diagnosed with

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

. She died at their home in

Anacortes, Washington Anacortes ( ) is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name "Anacortes" is an adaptation of the name of Anne Curtis Bowman, who was the wife of early Fidalgo Island settler Amos Bowman. According to Elverum, ''Now Only'' is "part two" to ''

''. After releasing ''A Crow Looked at Me'' in 2017, Elverum decided that he did not want to play any of his older songs because they seemed "irrelevant" and so continued to write in order to have enough material to go on tour. Elverum wrote the album on pieces of paper left over from Castrée, noting their sentimental quality. The writing process took place almost immediately after ''A Crow Looked at Me.'' The album was recorded in Elverum's house in the room in which Castrée died. Moving on from the raw

catharsis Catharsis is from the Ancient Greek word , , meaning "purification" or "cleansing", commonly used to refer to the purification and purgation of thoughts and emotions by way of expressing them. The desired result is an emotional state of renewal an ...

of the previous album, Elverum approached the writing of Now Only from an introspective perspective, attempting to answer the question of how Castrée exists in his life post-death. Elverum described this as the "thesis of the record, the question I'm poking at" The album cover is a picture of Elverum's

refrigerator A refrigerator, commonly shortened to fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermal insulation, thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to ...

. It features a

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

quote: "Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes", photos of wildlife,

Beat Happening Beat Happening was an American indie pop band formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1982. Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis, and Bret Lunsford have been the band's continual members. Beat Happening were early leaders in the American indie pop and lo-f ...

and Castrée, postcards, portraits and friends' writing.'''' Elverum chose to use his refrigerator as the album cover upon realizing how the images displayed on it had subconsciously influenced the lyrics.''''

Music and lyrics

Overview

The lyrics deal with a number of topics such as the life Elverum and Castrée lived, "the absurdity of the bigger picture" of Elverum's life and Elverum playing the songs in public. Like in ''A Crow Looked at Me,'' time plays a significant role, with the range of events and dates being more extensive.'''' The lyrics takes on a more direct descriptive manner rather the than the poetic style of his music before Castrée's death. In comparison to ''A Crow Looked at Me'' the lyrics are "stranger, sometimes facetious".'''' Elverum described the songs present on the album as "deeper and broader" than those on ''A Crow Looked at Me''. Elverum sings in a direct, sing-speaking, "stream-of-consciousness" manner. Despite every song dealing explicitly with Castrée, the central focus of the album is Elverum and his perspective on death. His perspective ranges from "ruminative, cosmic

existentialism Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and valu ...

to carefully observed banality". The songs are musically similar to those on ''A Crow Looked at Me'' but longer, averaging seven minutes each, compared to ''A Crow Looked at Me's'' averaged less than four minutes. Elverum explained that the reason for this change was his interest in "having a more nuanced conversation." They have also been said to feature "richer instrumentation". The songs also feature multiple

movements Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger c ...

and follow non-linear narratives. Just like ''A Crow Looked at Me'' the theme of the absurdity of performing initmate material in public while pretending otherwise is present as is the theme of contextualising death, particularly in the song "Two Paintings by Nikolai Alstrup". The theme of "shifts in memory and posterity" which Elverum called the theme of album is also present, such as in songs like "Distortion". The role of art within the grieving process is also a recurring motif.

Songs

The title of the song "Tintin in Tibet" refers to ''

Tintin in Tibet ''Tintin in Tibet'' () is the twentieth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. It was serialised weekly from September 1958 to November 1959 in ''Tintin (magazine), Tintin'' magazine and publis ...

'', the twentieth volume of the comics series ''

The Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' ( ) is a series of 24 comic albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century. By 2007, a c ...

'' by Belgian cartoonist

Hergé Georges Prosper Remi (; 22 May 1907 – 3 March 1983), known by the pen name Hergé ( ; ), from the French pronunciation of his reversed initials ''RG'', was a Belgian comic strip artist. He is best known for creating ''The Adventures of T ...

. A copy of ''Tintin in Tibet'' owned by Castrée previously appeared in the cover art of ''A Crow Looked at Me.'' Thematically similar to ''A Crow Looked at Me'', the song details Elverum's memories of Castrée before her illness. It opens with a major chord. The song along with others on the album incorporates multiple tempo and instrument changes such as the transition from guitar chords to melodic

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

s played on a

classical guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string (music), string instrument with strings made of catgut, gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the ...

. The song also features

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...

crashes and

snare SNARE proteins – "Soluble NSF attachment protein, SNAP REceptors" – are a large protein family consisting of at least 24 members in yeasts and more than 60 members in mammalian and plant cells. The primary role of SNARE proteins is to m ...

rim hits. The second track "Distortion", which has been described as an 11-minute

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

, deals with the ideas of memory and mortality. Across its six verses, Elverum contemplates how one will be remembered and how Castrée lives on through his memories. It, like many of Elverum's past works, opens with heavy distorted guitars. Alongside that it features guitar

arpeggio An arpeggio () is a type of Chord (music), chord in which the Musical note, notes that compose a chord are individually sounded in a progressive rising or descending order. Arpeggios on keyboard instruments may be called rolled chords. Arpe ...

s, distorted

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

notes, vocal

harmonies In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

and piano trills. The instrumentation is evocative of his previous black metal work. The song references

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian ...

and his daughter with Elverum noting a resemblance between Castrée and

Jan Kerouac Janet Michelle "Jan" Kerouac (February 16, 1952 – June 5, 1996) was an American writer and the only child of beat generation author Jack Kerouac and Joan Haverty Kerouac. Early life and career Janet Michelle Kerouac was born a few months af ...

. It also references Elverum's childhood memory of his

great-grandfather Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, or Grandma and Grandpa, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maxi ...

's funeral in particular the impact of seeing his corpse and a pregnancy scare he experienced at age 23.'''' The title track which has been described as the

centerpiece A centrepiece or centerpiece is an important item of a display, usually of a table setting. Centrepieces help set the theme of the decorations and bring extra decorations to the room. A centrepiece also refers to any central or important object ...

of the album. It features a "playful" recitation of the phrase "People get cancer and die." It's notable in the context of the album and Elverum's discography as a whole due to it functioning as a

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

which Elverum admits that he's "maybe never written" before. The phrase is intended to represent the "absurdity of everything" with the clash between the "catchy and pretty" instrumention and the grim lyrics representing "the clash between the facts and experiencing beauty and devastation in the same moment." Elverum reflects on his time spent in hospitals, the absurdity of playing his "death songs" to audiences at a music festival outside of

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

and the success of A Crow Looked at Me. The song uses the Arizonan deserts as a reflection of Elverum's "self-discovery and coping." In the song "Earth" Elverum references "I Will Lay Down My Bones Among the Rocks and Roots" by the Cascadian

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

band ''

Wolves in the Throne Room Wolves in the Throne Room is an American black metal band formed in 2002 in Olympia, Washington, by brothers Aaron and Nathan Weaver. They have released seven full-length albums, two live albums, and two EPs to date. They have stated one of the ...

''," The song details Elverum discovering pieces of Castrée's bones in the area where he spread her ashes. Elverum was careful with how he portrayed this moment framing it not as gory, gratuitous, or shocking, merely a reflection of the truth. It features a

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

style opening reminiscent of his 2008 EP '' Black Wooden Ceiling Opening'' and his 2009 album '' Wind's Poem'' along with

power chord A power chord , also called a fifth chord, is a colloquial name for a chord on guitar, especially on electric guitar, that consists of the root note and the fifth, as well as possibly octaves of those notes. Power chords are commonly pla ...

s, open hi-hats, finger-picked acoustic guitar and

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

accompaniment. "Two Paintings by Nikolai Astrup" refers to Norwegian painter

Nikolai Astrup Nikolai Astrup () (30 August 1880 – 21 January 1928) was a Norwegian modernist painter. Astrup was a distinctive, innovative artist noted principally for his intense use of color depicting the lush landscapes of Vestlandet featuring the trad ...

and his paintings ''Midsummer Eve Bonfire'' (ca. 1915) and ''Foxgloves'' (ca. 1920). Elverum chose Astrup upon realizing that the phenomenon of "observing the transition from a living person into a memory" he is experiencing with Castrée, once similarly happened to Astrup and to "every person who's ever been alive." The lyrics contain Elverum pondering the occurrence of his death such as flight over the

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...

suddenly crashing. The opening lyrics "I Know No One" are a reference to the opening track on his 2005 album '' No Flashlight''. The melody is reused from his song "Who?" from his 2008 album ''

Lost Wisdom ''Lost Wisdom'' is the second studio album by Mount Eerie, with Canadian musicians Julie Doiron and Frederick Squire. It was released on October 7, 2008 on P. W. Elverum & Sun, less than a month before Elverum's next album under the Mount Eerie ...

''. The final track "Crow, Pt. 2" is a continuation from "Crow", likewise the final track from ''A Crow Looked at Me''. The song is more energetic than "Crow" although it still retains the previously established dark tone and features finger-picked acoustic guitar. While still directed to Castrée, Elverum's daughter is the central focus of the song, mentioning her sense of grief. Throughout the song and the album as a whole Elverum lists a "series of symbolic incarnations" of Castrée, the areas and ideas in which he sees Castrée however he ultimately admits that he doesn't see her in anything, anymore.

Release and promotion

On January 17, 2018, Elverum announced that he would release a new album and go on tour, performing select North American dates. Alongside the announcement Elverum released the first single "Distortion" to positive reviews, netting the "Best New Track" distinction from ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' and being called the best song of the week by ''Under the Radar''. The second single, "Tintin in Tibet" was released on February 20, 2018, again to positive reviews, appearing on ''Under the Radar's'' list of the 12 best songs of the week''.''

Reception

''Now Only'' received critical acclaim. At

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a

normalized Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...

rating out of 100 to reviews from

music critic '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...

s, the album has received an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

score of 82, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 19 reviews. Sam Sodomsky of ''Pitchfork'' called it "part memoir and part magnum opus" and "his most harrowing and physical description of decay". Alexis Petridis of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' said, "Elverum still sounds lost in fathomless pain, struggling to get on with his life while terrified of letting his wife's memory fade". Nick Hasted of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' wrote, "Its lyrics are a tidal, seemingly undifferentiated tumble". Robert Ham of ''Paste'' felt a personal connection to Elverum and his loss, relating it to the passing of

Patton Oswalt Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His acting roles include Spence Olchin in the sitcom ''The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–2023) as adult ...

's wife, writing, "Through the art that Elverum and Oswalt have made manifest in the wake of their wives dying, I feel like I know them with an uncomfortable intimacy. As much as I marvel at Annihilation or Now Only, I feel like I want them back on this planet, too." he also wrote, "Now Only is still as wrenching and direct as its predecessor, but concerns itself, at times, with the bitter truth that, sooner rather than later, he'll be gone, too". Thomas Britt of ''

Popmatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' said that the album "will be of interest to Mount Eerie devotees but feels more downbeat and less necessary than its predecessor"." Robert Christgau, writing for ''Vice'', said, "you have to admire the no-fuss complexities of his survival album—in particular his realization that it isn't just the artist's body that can't survive, it's the artist's body of work". Skye Butchard of ''

Loud and Quiet ''Loud and Quiet'' is a British bi-monthly music magazine that focuses on new music from underground indie, alternative, electronic and hip hop artists. History and profile The magazine was founded in January 2005 by Stuart Stubbs as a home-print ...

'' initially gave the album a perfect ten but later noted that rating the album or calling it a masterpiece " eemedwrong". Many writers noted that the album sounded more hopeful than ''A Crow Looked at Me'' and had more diverse instrumentation. Heather Phares of ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'' said, "this album isn't quite as devastatingly sad as its predecessor, and on songs such as "Crow, Pt. 2," there's a lightness when he sings "you're a quiet echo on a loud wind" that wasn't there before" and "his use of sound is even more evocative". ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' said, "Where Crow occupied a numb, purgatorial present tense, the new record leaps around like a wandering mind, to vivid anecdotes from the singer-songwriter's past". Alex Hudson of ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'' speaking of the more diverse instrumentation said, "the result is an emotionally nuanced meditation on death that is both heartbreaking and hopeful".

Accolades

''Now Only'' appeared on numerous year-end top lists by several publications. Such as ''

,'' ''The Daily Emerald'', ''

Digital Trends Digital Trends is a Portland, Oregon-based tech news, lifestyle, and information website that publishes news, reviews, guides, how-to articles, descriptive videos and podcasts about technology and consumer electronics products. With offices in P ...

,'' ''Earbuddy'', ''

,''

KCPR KCPR (91.3 FM) is a non-commercial radio station that is licensed to San Luis Obispo, California. Owned by California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo, the station is operated by students from its on-campus studio loc ...

'','' ''

'', ''

Noisey ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. It was founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, and its founders later launched the youth media company ...

,''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, ''

,'' ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

,'' ''The Skinny'', ''Slate'', ''

Tiny Mix Tapes ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, ...

,'' and ''Treblezine.'' Songs such as "Tintin in Tibet", "Distortion" and "Now Only" also appeared on year-end top lists by ''Treblezine, Pitchfork,'' and the ''

Phoenix New Times ''Phoenix New Times'' is a free digital and print media company based in Phoenix, Arizona. ''Phoenix'' ''New Times'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music, arts, cannabis, as well as longform narrative journalism. A ...

,'' respectively. American singer-songwriter

Kevin Morby Kevin Robert Morby (born 2 April 1988) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. A former member of Woods (band), Woods and The Babies, Morby has released seven solo studio albums: ''Harlem River (album), Harlem River'' (2013), ''Still Li ...

included the album on his list of his favorite albums of 2018.

Track listing

Personnel

*Phil Elverum – songwriting, vocals, production, mixing, guitars, bass, drums, piano, keyboards

Release history

References

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control 2018 albums Albums recorded in a home studio Mount Eerie albums 2010s concept albums Works about cancer