The Atlas Mountains
Perth, Western Australia, Australia | SELF
Music
Press
The Atlas Mountains then rocked their way through what felt like a much too short set. Luckily they were given enough time to pump out their hit Time Waits For No One. Unfortunately for the band, the sound was way too loud given the amount of people in the room, resulting in a muddying of what was an otherwise gratifying musical experience. Chatanoogan Taylor Smith booming vocals from behind his impressive moustache was a particular highlight. - Xpress Magazine - Columbia Press
The Atlas Mountains then rocked their way through what felt like a much too short set. Luckily they were given enough time to pump out their hit Time Waits For No One. Unfortunately for the band, the sound was way too loud given the amount of people in the room, resulting in a muddying of what was an otherwise gratifying musical experience. Chatanoogan Taylor Smith booming vocals from behind his impressive moustache was a particular highlight. - Xpress Magazine
'Jumping a step back into the Indie scene, an eclectic bunch of men that is The Atlas Mountains took the stage, leaving feelings that this band could either go terribly wrong or good be surprisingly fantastic. They tipped the side of fantastic within the first few seconds of playing.
The vocals stole the spotlight throughout the set. At one point Smith sang from a good 20cm away from the microphone, yet still filled the speakers with his vocals. The bands overall sound consisted of Indie folk rock tunes with subtle but effective guitars, keys and drums, tumbling along behind the imagery of the vocal notes, with playful trickling keys at times.
Taking lyrics from Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet and reading a few lines from a book, mid set, added the the brilliantly written tunes with so much passion, and it was refreshing to find another little Perth gem. '
Amy Vinncombe
Xpress Magazine - Issue 1183 - 15th October 2009 - Xpress Magazine - Columbia Press
'First up, The Atlas Mountains. These guys played satisfyingly epic country-tinged ballads that fit in with Band Of Horses or My Morning Jacket, except with a more masculine voice and the occasional disturbing flourish.
Idyllic strings over virile guitar were occasionally decentred by a left field gypsy fiddle, meanwhile, singer Taylor Smith sweated up a puddle and crunched his face in concentration. Still, they showed themselves to be a surprisingly ambitious and tight new act.
Matt Giles
Live Wire - 29th October 2009 - Live Wire - The West Australian Newspaper
'The quintet who owned the night took to the stage, set up and finally launched into some tunes off their debut record.
Their willingness to write structures and textures to serve the songs so well give the songs a strength that's surprising for a band so new. The crowd needed little encouragement to get close and friendly as they channelled Cold War Kids and early Coldplay.
There's something joyful in The Atlas Mountains music - even in the melancholic moments - that's undeniable. So when the group unleashed an all out rock attack, finally letting the melodies run free, the crowd went right with them in a wonderfully cathartic moment. Time Waits For No One, the bands Triple J played track, found some familiar ears as the keyboardist went crowd surfing over the cheering punters whose calls for an encore went unanswered in the only disappointment of the night.'
Jason Kenny
Issue 165 - 3rd December 2009 - Drum Media - Street Press Australia
Discography
Album: Sanskrit Owl - Released November 2009
Singles:
Time Waits For No One - Airplay on Triple J Radio (National) & RTRFM Local. Streaming on Triple J Unearthed.com
Adieu - Airplay on RTRFM (Local) & Streaming on Triple J Unearthed
We Can Do Alot Of Things -
Black Swan Serenade - Airplay on RTRFM (Local) & Streaming on Triple J Unearthed until 22/02/2010
Map To The New World - Streaming on Triple J
Siren/Left For Dead, Long Dark Road, Why Can't You Stay, Adieu, Map To The New World & Time Waits For No One all streaming on MySpace
Album - A Splendid Diagnosis (unreleased, to be released early 2011)
Singles
A Splendid Diagnosis - streaming on Triple J radios unearthed site
Out in the Night - streaming on Triple J radios unearthed site
both singles are also available on our facebook and reverbnation profiles, as well as our website.
Photos
Bio
What do you get when you mix one Nashville outsider, one English drummer, and three superb musicians hailing from the most isolated city on earth—a pretty damn good band, that’s what. Three continents converging into one post-colonial powerhouse, taking their name from an obscure mountain range in northern Africa, the Perth, Western Australia-based indie-rock band, the Atlas Mountains, are starting to gain a lot of attention, on both sides of the equator. ‘Doves meets Drones could be an appropriate epithet here,’ declared taste-making Triple J radio announcer Vijay Khurana. ‘A wild and weary sound and a voice that paces in cramped circles, over and over. Beautiful.’
Over the past three years, the lads have developed a reputation for their powerful, sweat-soaked live performances around Perth and Fremantle, and have slowly built up a small, but cultishly-devoted following on the internet.
But it hasn’t all been fun and games for The Atlas Mountains. Death, substance abuse, arrests, and financial hardship have all been woven into the fabric of the history surrounding this relatively well-mannered band.
‘We’ve been through a lot as a band,’ says Smith. ‘There’s a line in Steve Earle’s song, (Tom Ames’ Prayer) that’s become a bit of a mantra for me. I ain’t askin’ for a miracle, Lord/ Just a little bit of luck would do…’
A little bit of luck would do, especially now, with the band on the cusp of releasing their spectacular sophomore LP, ‘A Splendid Diagnosis,’ (Recorded at Loop Studios in Perth, by James Newhouse and Kieran Kenderessy, and mastered by William Bowden, at King Willy Studios, in Sydney). On March 15, 2011, Smith was forced to return to America, after being unable to renew his work visa in time, leaving an air of confusion for this up and coming band. But the band that plays together (and lives together and eats together and drives around on revoked licenses together) stays together. And The Mountains are currently at work planning a digital release for the album, talking to record labels, planning a North American tour, and continuing to collaborate musically, sharing files through the internet.
‘We’ve come too far to stop now,’ says Smith. ‘We’ve poured our hearts, our lives, and our paychecks into making this record—and we’ve been through so much as a band. The music just keeps getting better and better. And besides, these guys are my brothers. It’s that simple.’
An entire ocean currently separates the Mountains, but this multicultural quintet is not phased by geography. From the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, to Nottingham Forrest, to the coast of the Indian Ocean; this is a band formed from all corners of the world, and a band ready to conquer all places in between.
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