Everest

It’s not every day a young band gets invited to join a legend on stage for one of the year’s most anticipated tour. Los Angeles-based quintet Everest had that very experience when Neil Young asked them to support his North American tour, joining Wilco and Death Cab for Cutie, East coast and West coast, respectively.
This collective of talented musicians is no stranger to touring, having just returned from a European jaunt with My Morning Jacket, in addition to each individual’s resume, ranging from stints in The Watson Twins to Sebadoh. As the Los Angeles Times pointed out, the band members “sport resumes longer than the intro to ‘Cortez The Killer.’”
Everest’s debut album, Ghost Notes (Vapor Records), is sonically reminiscent of the classic vintage equipment used to capture it. Recorded at Elliot Smith’s former studio, New Monkey Studio, one can’t help wonder if the album title reflects more than just a name.
Their California sun-soaked pop songs mesh into rocking proggy jams or spacey ballads, propelled by the unmistakable Hammond, slide guitars and Russell Pollard’s gentle vocals. The beautifully produced (Mike Terry) tracks emit a certain sense of vinyl-era aesthetic, yet balance with a modern-day vibe, drawing from their influences yet never veering from their own unique pedigree.