Mount Moriah

On their debut album under the Mount Moriah name, following an earlier incarnation as Un Deux Trois, the duo of Heather McEntire and Jenks Miller take a turn toward classic rock and ramble -- perhaps surprising to anyone who only knows Miller through his black metal work -- in an utterly early 21st century moment with their easygoing approach to entrapping an idea of genre. (And frankly, Miller does a better job exploring this approach than My Morning Jacket does black metal, say.) Mount Moriah's primary voice, though, belongs to McEntire, who sings lead and plays while Miller and a wide-ranging group of fellow performers, from a variety of acts including Megafaun, St. Vincent, and Bowerbirds, contribute throughout. Inasmuch as any general approach has its stylistic traits, Mount Moriah's work is sometimes more enjoyable rather than remarkable. But the second song, "Social Wedding Rings," shifts to a sharp and slick feeling that's less 1971 backwoods than 1981 barroom, a little recaptu