All A Capprofile: Mountain Man

Mountain Man is a threesome consisting of Molly Sarle, Amelia Meath, and Alexandra Sauser-Monnig. The group sings remarkable a cappella songs, as well as a selection of vocal heavy songs that contain minor guitar accompaniment. The three girls came together in 2009 when they met at Bennington College in Vermont and since then have been creating haunting and very natural sounding melodies, each of which will leaving you dying for more.

While most a cappella groups can usually claim a great amount of talent and expertise, there is something different about Mountain Man. The songs the girls sing are mostly originals, which is something that many a cappella groups cannot say. The music itself seems suited for a night sitting on a porch in the deep south, staring at the stars and swatting mosquitoes. It’s harmonious, of course, and lovely, but also eerily entrancing. Once you start listening, you really don’t want to stop.

Currently, Mountain Man is touring with Feist and performing as her backup group. I had the opportunity to see Feist in concert this past month and it was clear that both the singer and her fans adored the fantastic, spectral addition that Mountain Man added to the show. At one point, Feist stepped off stage and actually let the three girls perform a song on their own– and though it was sad to see the front-woman go, I don’t know that anyone was complaining once Mountain Man started to sing. The girls enraptured the crowd with their song “River”, and since then I have been unable to get them out of my head.

In July of 2010, the group was featured on NPR, and since that and the release of their newest album, Made the Harbor, Mountain Man has received a quite a bit of buzz on the internet. The band will be on tour with Feist through the end of August and who knows what’s in store after that. Hopefully they will be hitting the tour circuit on their own—in the meantime, tune in for them on All A Cappella!

By Kali Rohrbaugh