The Noticer, the sophomore album from Mt. Kili, represents a creative expanse for Rick Sichta’s Asheville-based project. Recorded at Echo Mountain Studio, the release blends indie folk with richer instrumentation, propelled by violinist and vocalist Laney Barnett alongside drummer Matt Shepard. The release balances personal authenticity with collaborative depth, evolving from home recordings into a textured, world-class production with expansive folk sophistication.
Opening the album with a stirringly introspective appeal, “Don’t Start a War” fuses trickling acoustics and sporadic percussive pants — maneuvering from a sole vocal solemnity into a closing dual-vocal harmoniousness. The lyrics touch on isolation and the exhaustion of trying to find salvation in destructive places. “You’re fooling the night when the night calms,” they let out, thematically depicting a sense of being adrift in metaphorical choppy waters, arriving into an impactful line in “when the thing that will save her is something that takes her” — reflective of how that pursuit of refuge can result in one’s own all-consuming demise.
Another stirring track with rainy-day atmospherics, “The Rain Song” expands to a warming array of acoustics, steady percussion, and heartfelt strings. The latter emerge with spine-tingling flair, the “we run and join the crowd” vocal depictions suggesting a coming-of-age, sunshine-filled vibrancy following previous depictions of being adrift in a storm. “Her Song” is affecting as well, delighting in its subdued folk production and serene vocal duet, while “The Weather Report” embraces a similar initial acoustic progression, guiding thereafter into gorgeous strings, twinkling keys, and intermittent percussion for a further demonstration of Mt. Kili’s knack for gorgeously unfolding song structures. Among one of the strongest folk albums of 2026 so far, The Noticer is an excellent showcase in songwriting from Mt. Kili.
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We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
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