Microphones

The project of lo-fi mastermind Phil Elverum in the 1990s and early2000s, the Microphones introduced his searching, deeply personalmusic.Though he released a handful of albums during the project'soriginal run, each one greatlyexpanded his music's ambitions, and theambitions ofindie rock and pop by extension. As early as 1999's Don'tWake Me Up, Elverum displayed a knack for making lo-fi music thatwas both sophisticated and direct, sometimes heartbreakingly so. Hisfragile voice was the perfect counterpoint to his sprawling, intricatelyarranged and produced music, particularlyon 2001's classic The Glow,Pt.2.On 2003's Mount Eerie, he further expanded his confessional,free-flowing songwriting as well as theimpressionistic touches ofambient, folk, and black metal that he continued to explore as MountEerie later in the 2000s. When Elverum returned to the project withThe Microphones in 2020, the strengths he had established yearsbefore were even richer.