Regular readers of The Static Dive are well acquainted with Steven Clarkson and When Mountains Speak. We have followed the Texan multi-instrumentalist and his genre-fluid avant-garde improvisational project since the 2023 LP Old Fades to New. We have heard from the prolific producer as recently as last month upon the release of Center of Infinity.
A lifelong performer and composer, Clarkson has a five-decade-deep resume as a stage and studio musician. He still works regularly as a mandolin-player in Austin’s world-class music scene. Working with a collaborative roster of musicians in his hometown and around the world, as When Mountains Speak Steven has released over two-dozen groundbreaking experimental albums.
The Metrics of One is the brand new album from When Mountains Speak, released worldwide via all major streaming services on August 22, 2024. On the ten-song set, Clarkson continues the organic acid-rock experimentation of recent releases. However, once again he takes us to previously uncharted sonic territory within that universe.
“Slump” introduces the record and launches the journey by marrying funk drums, Latin percussion, and a free-form jazz piano, guitar, sax, and wah-wah bass jam. “Love All” adds a dark industrial kick drum and some beatnik poetry to the mix. “For The Moment” then carries When Mountains Speak into a more chaotic space.
On “Bass Confessions”, classic sci-fi analog electronics and old-world percussion add color to the soundtrack of this inter-dimensional trip. Clarkson slips some funny mushrooms into the rocket fuel as his guitar takes us further into the unknown on the acid-rock trio of “Go For It”, “Ride the Tide”, and “Metrics of One”. The latter is reminiscent of some early-Zappa guitar-fueled space jams.
Together, the cinematic experimentation of “The Depths” and the sax/guitar/bass freakout “Neptunes Trail Interlude” represent over 25 minutes of unhindered improvisation. Untethered synths and guitars explore the spaces between the notes as the rhythm section drops free-jazz science. The album completes its astral journey with “Fate of Proximity”, a hypnotic lucid dream that recalls the musical complexity and liberating abandon of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd.
Check out The Metrics of One in its entirety below, or listen on your favorite streaming service. You can also hear the track “Fate of Proximity” on the Deep Dive : Jazz & Classical playlist. Follow the links below to connect with When Mountains Speak.