Everything Everything: “Mountainhead” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Everything Everything delighted us this year with album number seven, and guess what? It’s a belter. If crafting ridiculously catchy bangers about a dystopian capitalist state was an Olympic sport, Jonathan Higgs and the lads would be draped in gold. This time around, they’re taking us to a made-up world where everyone’s obsessed with building a massive mountain. The twist? To create the mountain, the peasants are digging deeper and deeper holes to live in. It is a not-so-subtle metaphor for the working class slogging away to make the rich even richer.
The album kicks off with “Wild Guess,” a slow-burner that doesn’t grab you by the throat right away but sets the tone nicely. Then, it’s game on. The album feels like a playlist of Everything Everything’s finest moments, sprinkled with just enough deep cuts to keep it feeling fresh. Exactly how it should be.
Big hitters like “The End of the Contender” and “Cold Reactor” put Higgs’s sky-high vocals to the test, reminding us why this band still stands out in a sea of sound-alike acts. Then there are the moodier moments like “Canary” and “TV Dog,” where the band trades their usual frenzy for a haunting vibe. But the standout? “Your Money, My Summer.” It’s a shimmering earworm that creeps under your skin and refuses to leave—expect this one to dominate your playlists.
Things wind down beautifully with “City Song” and “The Witness,” a duo that floats you off into dreamland and ties the whole thing up perfectly.
This is Everything Everything firing on all cylinders. It’s a bold, brilliant piece of work that’ll have you hitting repeat for months. Get it on, turn it up, and let it take over.
