Kate Larson a.k.a. Guilt Mountain
New Paltz songwriter, ’zine author and event promoter Kate Larson calls her latest solo (and sometimes duo) musical project Guilt Mountain, giving us some clue into its intentions and psychological utility. Larson was formerly a member of Klessa, a four-piece parlor art collective whose bass clarinet, accordion and glockenspiel ditties ran a range from naïve folksterism to moments of almost staggering musical originality. Larson then fronted the all-female punk-poppy trio Go Ogres, a funny, playful and even a bit vitriolic rock group that harassed harassers and celebrated Jeremy Lin.
Guilt Mountain seems to combine elements of both. There is a one-of-a-kind handcrafted feel to the song forms, as with Klessa, and the lyrics often approach a meditative minimalism. But as with Go Ogres, expiations and vengeance and emotional resolutions are being directly pursued in these charged and personal songs.
On Thursday, August 7, Guilt Mountain teams with Brooklyn’s Early Riser, the duo of cellist Heidi Vanderlee (of Leda) and guitarist Kiri Oliver. Early samples describe a deliriously tuneful, acoustic indie-pop with spot harmonies right out of the pop-punk songbook and articulate, emotionally clustered lyrics not far out of step with Guilt Mountain’s. It will be a duo of duos, as Larson will have her frequent collaborator, the multi-instrumental savant Matt Ross (Subpixel, Los Doggies, 3DCosby, Breakfast in Fur), on board for the date.
Guilt Mountain and Early Riser appear as part of BSP’s ongoing Free Thursday series. That means that it’s free. The show starts at 8 p.m. BSP is located at 323 Wall Street in Kingston. For more information, visit www.bspkingston.com.