Black Wooden Ceiling Opening

Black Wooden Ceiling Opening is an EP released by Mount Eerie. It was released on March 4, 2008. The EP was described by singer Phil Elverum as "black metal using natural materials".[1][2]

Black Wooden Ceiling Opening
EP by Mount Eerie
Released	March 4, 2008
Recorded	Department of Safety Anacortes, Washington October 30, 2006
Genre	Indie rock, black metal
Length	21:39
Label	Southern Distribution P.W. Elverum & Sun, Ltd. (ELV 016)
Producer	Phil Elverum
Mount Eerie chronology
Mount Eerie pts. 6 & 7 (2007) Black Wooden Ceiling Opening (2008) Lost Wisdom (2008)

Recording and release

The album was recorded by Phil Elverum, Jason Anderson and Kjetil Jenssen on October 30, 2006 in Anacortes, Washington.[3] It was released alongside an 11-song bootleg recording of the same group of musicians featured on the album live in concert at the Department of Safety in Anacortes, WA.[3]

Elverum found the inspiration for the song "Domesticated Dog" from his time spent riding in a minivan across Montana with Calvin Johnson and his mother in September 2006. He speculated that the “sleeping giant” in the last verse "came from those reclining-human-like Montana hills."[4] "Don't Smoke" came from Elverum's desire to "be more confrontational and pragmatic" with his songs hoping to get his audience who were "vegan and radical and eat healthy food" yet smoked cigarettes to stop.[4]

Music

Expanding on the sound of heavier songs on previous albums like The Glow Pt. 2. Black Wooden Ceiling Opening sees Elverum go for a dark and raw aesthetic, incorparating elements of black metal and hardcore.[1][5] Eric Hill of Exclaim! described it as a "quick distillation of everything that Mount Eerie was in the mid-2000s," and the closet to metal Elverum has produced.[6]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Tiny Mix Tapes	[7]
Pitchfork Media	(7.6/10) [1]

Upon release, the EP received a generally positive reception. Brock Thiessen of Exclaim! wrote that "The record shows him having a bit of fun with his work and to the listener’s benefit, including three superb reinterpretations of older, more reserved Mount Eerie tracks" and that "Factor in some added live tracks and there’s no denying Black Wooden is an important and enjoyable part of the Elverum catalogue".[2] Jessica Suarez of Pitchfork wrote that "Like a smoker, Elverum's compulsion to keep going trumps his own best interests-- when he recognizes that compulsion is when he's at his best".[1]

"JSPICER" of Tinymixtapes wrote that "Black Wooden Ceiling Opening isn’t so much about reinvention as it is about reinterpretation." and that "With this EP, Phil isn’t cashing in on fan loyalty, nor is he trying any fancy parlor tricks. Black Wooden Ceiling Opening is simply another side of Phil’s Mount Eerie persona. And, for me, discovering Phil’s playful side through this EP has been a pleasure akin to sex" [7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Phil Elverum.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Appetite"	04:13
2.	"Domesticated Dog"	02:09
3.	"In Moonlight"	04:25
4.	"Blue Light on the Floor"	02:24
5.	"Don't Smoke"	02:52
6.	"Stop Singing"	02:52
Total length:		21:39

Live At The Dept. Of Safety, Oct. 30th 2006

No.	Title	Length
7.	"Intro"	1:12
8.	"Appetite"	4:38
9.	"Domesticated Dog"	2:22
10.	"Don't Smoke"	3:35
11.	"Stop Singing"	5:29
12.	"In Moonlight"	4:51
13.	"The Universe Is Shown"	2:58
14.	"No Inside, No Out"	2:20
15.	"Uncertainty"	2:15
16.	"The Moan"	2:26
17.	"Blue Light On The Floor"	4:55
Total length:		56:00

References

1. Pitchfork
2. Exclaim
3. "Bandcamp". March 4, 2008. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
4. Stosuy, Brandon (July 1, 2009). "Phil Elverum on Six of His Songs". Believer Magazine. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
5. Stosuy, Brandon (May 22, 2008). "New Mount Eerie – "In Moonlight"". Stereogum. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
6. Hill, Eric (March 21, 2017). "An Essential Guide to Mount Eerie, the Microphones and the World of Phil Elverum". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
7. Tiny Mix Tapes