Attack of the Mountain Medley

Taking a break from its usual power-pop approach, Eleventyseven tries its hands at acoustic country on this five-song EP. Attack of the Mountain Medley finds the South Carolina–bred Christian trio keeping its cheeky lyrical humor and infectious sense of melody while jettisoning the synths and electric guitars that defined their earlier releases. Lead singer Matthew Langston sounds loose and playful here amid the crisply picked acoustic guitars and tinkling mandolins. The band shows a knack for storytelling in “All the Doubt in Town” (an account of a struggling young couple) and “Nobody’s Business” (a zany tale of a trailer park moonshiner). “Long Way Down” adds a hint of rockabilly to the mix as it lyrically careens from romance to ghosts and talking trees, while “I’m a Mormon” offers a gentle tweaking of the Latter-Day Saints amid references to Star Wars, Green Day, and Will Smith. The most ambitious track here is “Appalachian Wine,” an odd yet sensitive parable about love and forgiveness embellished with piano and violin. Eleventyseven binds it all together with lustrous vocal harmonies and a spirit of collective fun.