Mountain Man is not a singular bearded man sporting overalls, a jug of moonshine, and a knapsack, but is in fact three young women (Molly Sarle, Amelia Maeth, and Alexandra Sauser-Monnig) who make hauntingly beautiful a cappella folk music. Only occasionally employing a guitar, the three imperfectly perfect voices combine to create a sort of old-timey gospel sound. Its the sort of sepia-toned sound that is equally at home on stage and in the middle of an Appalachian forest. The type of music that would have been well placed on the O’ Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack. These three talented ladies just released their debut record Made the Harbor, and had the honor of gracing IOTA’s stage in Arlington last night. I had a chance to chat with Mountain Man’s Molly Sarle just before, and it was a joy. Check out what she had to say after the jump.

MP3: Mountain Man – “Animal Tracks”
MP3: Mountain Man – “Soft Skin”

 

 

Y’all have been called the “female Fleet foxes” by several rock critics, was that ever in the running for a potential band name?

No, that was never considered. We did almost name ourselves “Balloon Animal Vagina,” because we found one of those weird balloon animals on the street in New York City, you know, the things that clowns make, and it looked like a vagina. Also, we thought we were going to call our first record Terrorizes the Nation, so we thought “Balloon Animal Vagina Terrorizes the Nation” would be a pretty funny title.

That sounds scary. But moving on from balloon animal vaginas, does anyone in the band have any really weird snacking/eating habits on the road?

Do we ever. Amelia survives almost exclusively on fried chicken and breakfast sandwiches from strange gas stations.

Amelia objects in the background.

Amelia says thats not true. It’s at least 75% true. Also, Allie really loves bread and cheese. And she has a particular affinity for really, really stinky cheese, which makes for problems in the close quarters of our tour van. And so our van often stinks like stinky cheese.

I really love to eat sausage, and Allie’s stinky cheese melted all over my sausage the other day. And we all unknowingly consumed sausage with stinky cheese juice all over it. And unsurprisingly, we all got stomach aches that night. We also all drink a rather large amount of sparkling water.

Do you ever eat normal, wholesome meals?

Yes, we do. The other morning, the lady we were staying with cooked us a delicious breakfast of eggs, sausages, and hash browns.

Y’all play in a church tonight. Do you feel any extra pressure playing in the house of God?

No, I don’t feel any extra pressure. I actually feel more comfortable singing in churches because the acoustics are usually so good. The reverb is perfect for our style of sound. I also think it’s fun performing in a church, because a lot of our songs are explicitly sexual.

I like that answer. Okay. So being a band formed in the very beautiful and eco-friendly state of Vermont, and for other reasons too, you three certainly have a sort of environmentalist aesthetic going on. What’s the least environmental thing someone has done in the band? Have any of you ever littered? Be honest.

Sometimes I throw my apple cores out of the van window.

Come on, I’m going to need something dirtier than that…

Well, like I said, we drink a lot of sparkling water. And although we try to recycle whenever possible, I can’t say that we always recycle the water bottles. Sometimes they just go in the trash.

Sparkling water seems like a significant part of y’all’s existence.

It really is. It’s essential. When your sitting all day in a car, you feel like a disgusting stagnant blob of laziness. And carbonation is the remedy. Sparkling water equals life. It keeps everything moving and lively. But it’s important for the bubbles to be the right size. Sometimes the bubbles are just too big.

I have the same problem. Okay, one last question. A lot is resting on this one. I need you to give me the odds on Congress reaching a debt ceiling agreement before your show at IOTA tomorrow night.

Ugh. I predict that the next time we turn on NPR and hear Diane Reams’ voice (insert poor Dian Reams impression), she will be reporting that there is still no agreement.