Michael Feuerstack - Eternity Mongers
Forward Music Group
Released on April 19th, 2024
The more you learn, the less you know.
It’s a sentiment only truly understood with the prerequisite x amount of laps around the glowing orb at the centre of our solar system. In every individual case, the number represented by x may differ but when that sentiment is understood fully, one might suggest you’ve crossed a higher plane of wisdom and understanding. On Eternity Mongers, Michael Feuerstack is at his most sage-like, he guides the listener into his contemplative world, weaving wise and curious ideas into our minds like an elder would around a campfire.
For those still with me, Michael Feuerstack is a Canadian treasure. Now into his third decade creating music, his style is as refined as imaginable. Starting in the early 90s under the name Snailhouse, he travelled in the same circles as Julie Doiron and Jeremy Gara (of Arcade Fire). He was a part of the band Wooden Stars (who won a Juno for Alternative Album of the Year in 2000 for the release, Julie Doiron and the Wooden Stars). He’s also been a member of Bell Orchestre and The Luyas. In 2012, after nine albums as Snailhouse, Michael Feuerstack began making records under his given name, Eternity Mongers is now his seventh such record.
Musically, the album prioritizes immediacy, with the recording of the bed tracks happening live-off-the-floor in a shed in Nova Scotia with Charles Austin. Flourishes of woodwinds (Karen Ng and Tim Crabtree) and backing vocals (Erika Angell and Laurel Sprengelmeyer) were added later in Montreal to give the compositions more depth but as with most Feuerstack releases, it’s his rich lyrical content that will keep you hitting play over and over again.
The first track, “What Isn’t What It Is” delivers multiple questions without answers, acknowledging that sometimes the question is more important than the response. In this sense, these examinations become a lifelong pursuit that grows an individual into a better version of themselves through gained experiences. The album continues with songs that explore the pull to these moments. “Your Mind’s Made Up” details someone important leaving to gain their life experiences, while “Big Sails” finds our writer seeking out their chance to live and learn. The release reaches its pinnacle on “No Such Thing,” as Feuerstack delivers us the big take-away from this journey — “they used to call it growing up, but now we know there’s no such thing” — he muses on the song’s chorus.
Going back to the sentiment at the start of this review— the more you learn, the less you know. I couldn’t help but think of these words a lot while listening to Eternity Mongers as this release took me on a journey with no end, full of inquiries with no replies. The album offers no fantasy, no bling, just real life. For this reason, Eternity Mongers may not be for everyone, it’s meditative and introspective with themes and ideas that radiate a maturity that some readers may not be ready to achieve… and that’s okay, because it’s the journey to these moments in life that is important. If you’re not quite seasoned enough to appreciate this album, come back later, it’s clear that Michael Feuerstack will understand… and he’ll be waiting.
- Jeff MacCallum