Sings Simple Gifts

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Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

Mountain Man performs the Shaker hymn "Simple Gifts" as part of its Mountain Man Sings series of cover singles. "'Simple Gifts' is one of those incredible songs that transforms you while you sing it," says the trio. "It's like an incantation, and it was a joy to record."

Description

Mountain Man—the trio of Amelia Meath, Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, and Molly Sarlé—releases Mountain Man Sings Simple Gifts, the latest in its series of cover singles, featuring its version of the 1848 Shaker hymn, today. The digital single follows previous editions in the Mountain Man Sings series, which also includes the band’s versions of Kacey Musgraves’ “Slow Burn,” Wilco’s “You and I,” John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” and the Irving Berlin holiday classic “White Christmas.” Last month, Nonesuch released Mountain Man’s live album, Look at Me Don’t Look at Me, recorded in November 2018 at Saint Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle.

“‘Simple Gifts’ is one of those incredible songs that transforms you while you sing it,” says the trio. “It’s like an incantation, and it was a joy to record.”

Mountain Man’s Nonesuch debut album, Magic Ship, was released in 2018 to critical acclaim. Following their beloved 2010 debut, Made the Harbor, the three musicians went in different directions for several years before they all ended up in North Carolina, spending time together as old friends, and finally reuniting as a band, and recording Magic Ship at Meath’s home studio in Durham. The group toured the US afterward, including a stop in Washington, DC, and a visit to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series.

In addition to Meath’s Grammy-nominated work with Sylvan Esso, which released a new album last week, Sauser-Monnig and Sarlé have recorded their own critically acclaimed solo projects. Sauser-Monnig released Dawnbreaker, her debut album under the moniker Daughter of Swords, via Nonesuch last year. Pitchfork says the album “reveals her effortless skill as a songwriter as she delivers an homage to the betwixt and between of a relationship in its twilight.” Sarlé released Karaoke Angel last year via Partisan Records.

FormatRestrictions

This single is available from Nonesuch Records for the world outside of Europe.

ns_album_releasedate
Album Status
Artist Name
Mountain Man
reissues?
new-release
Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
FLAC
Price
1.39
UPC
075597918953
Label
MP3
Price
1.29
UPC
075597918960

Track Listing

News & Reviews

  • Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and the members of Mountain Man—Amelia Meath, Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, and Molly Sarlé—talk with each other on the latest episode of the Talkhouse Podcast. "Somehow as if by magic," Talkhouse Executive Editor Josh Modell says of Mountain Man in his introduction, "their voices perfectly intertwined." You can hear the conversation here.

  • Mountain Man has released Mountain Man Sings Fiona Apple, featuring its version of “Hot Knife,” from Apple’s 2012 album, The Idler Wheel..., the latest release in the trio's series of cover singles. "If we followed Questlove's advice and made gratitude lists before we went to bed every night," the trio says, "Fiona Apple would be at the top every time. She tells the truth like no one else does. Thank you, Fiona Apple. We love you." Glide described a 2018 Mountain Man performance of the song as “three voices colliding and weaving like a sensual fever dream.”

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  • About This Album

    Mountain Man—the trio of Amelia Meath, Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, and Molly Sarlé—releases Mountain Man Sings Simple Gifts, the latest in its series of cover singles, featuring its version of the 1848 Shaker hymn, today. The digital single follows previous editions in the Mountain Man Sings series, which also includes the band’s versions of Kacey Musgraves’ “Slow Burn,” Wilco’s “You and I,” John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” and the Irving Berlin holiday classic “White Christmas.” Last month, Nonesuch released Mountain Man’s live album, Look at Me Don’t Look at Me, recorded in November 2018 at Saint Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle.

    “‘Simple Gifts’ is one of those incredible songs that transforms you while you sing it,” says the trio. “It’s like an incantation, and it was a joy to record.”

    Mountain Man’s Nonesuch debut album, Magic Ship, was released in 2018 to critical acclaim. Following their beloved 2010 debut, Made the Harbor, the three musicians went in different directions for several years before they all ended up in North Carolina, spending time together as old friends, and finally reuniting as a band, and recording Magic Ship at Meath’s home studio in Durham. The group toured the US afterward, including a stop in Washington, DC, and a visit to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series.

    In addition to Meath’s Grammy-nominated work with Sylvan Esso, which released a new album last week, Sauser-Monnig and Sarlé have recorded their own critically acclaimed solo projects. Sauser-Monnig released Dawnbreaker, her debut album under the moniker Daughter of Swords, via Nonesuch last year. Pitchfork says the album “reveals her effortless skill as a songwriter as she delivers an homage to the betwixt and between of a relationship in its twilight.” Sarlé released Karaoke Angel last year via Partisan Records.

  • Format Availability

    This single is available from Nonesuch Records for the world outside of Europe.