| Artist | Mount Eerie |
|---|---|
| Cover | Mount Eerie - Night Palace.png |
| Released | November 1, 2024[1] |
| Recorded | 2022–2024[2] |
| Length | 80:47 |
| Label | P. W. Elverum & Sun |
| Producer | Phil Elverum |
| Prev year | 2019 |
Night Palace is the eleventh studio album by Mount Eerie,[3] the solo project of American musician Phil Elverum. The double album is Elverum’s longest album as Mount Eerie, his first release credited solely to Mount Eerie since 2018’s Now Only and his first release since 2020’s Microphones in 2020. [4][5] The title of the album is a reference to Joanne Kyger's poem of the same name, which is featured on the cover of Mount Eerie’s 2017 album A Crow Looked at Me.
Concept
Upon announcing the album’s release, Phil Elverum said the album was heavily inspired by Zen meditation,[2] which he said he had been a "dabbler" in for decades, but finally made a regular part of his life in his 30s and 40s. His label explained in the press release that "After natural disasters, things do grow back[...] Elverum became a father in 2014 and then his partner fell ill with a fatal cancer and died a year later. These and other brutal waves of change kept pounding for years and it was all documented in the white knuckle songwriting on the albums A Crow Looked at Me (2017), Now Only (2018) and Lost Wisdom pt. 2 (2019)", adding that "It was in this patient clarity that Night Palace came to be written and recorded from 2022 to 2024."
Critical reception
Year-end lists
| Publication/critic | Accolade | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Atlantic | 10 Best Albums of 2024 | 1 | [7] |
| Beats Per Minute | Top 50 Albums of 2024 | 17 | [8] |
| The Fader | 50 Best Albums of 2024 | 6 | [9] |
| Pitchfork | 50 Best Albums of 2024 | 7 | [10] |
| The Ringer | 30 Best Albums of 2024 | 19 | [11] |
| Slant Magazine | 50 Best Albums of 2024 | 22 | [12] |
| Stereogum | 50 Best Albums of 2024 | 7 | [13] |
Personnel
- Phil Elverum – performance
- JJ Golden – mastering, lacquer cut
- Agathe Elverum – screaming and speaking on "Swallowed Alive"
- Alex Mahan – humming on "Blurred World"
- Geneviève Castrée – humming on "Blurred World"
- Bob Von Normann – photography
- Sigurður Þorarinsson – photography
- Tom Adamson – photography
- Edvard Munch – painting
- Hans Gude – painting
- Indigo Free – painting
- J. C. Dahl – painting
- Nicasius Bernaerts – painting
- Peter Nicolai Arbo – painting
- Kenyon R. Kaiser – redwood chainsaw carving
References
- ^ "Mount Eerie Announces New Album 'Night Palace' — Hear Two Songs". 3 September 2024.
- ^ "Night Palace by Mount Eerie (2xLP)". Pwelverumandsun.com
- ^ "Mount Eerie Announces New Album Night Palace, Shares New Songs". Pitchfork. 3 September 2024.
- ^ "Phil Elverum Details Microphones Vinyl Box Set". Pitchfork. 14 January 2022.
- ^ "Phil Elverum's first new Microphones album in 17 years is one 44-minute song". The A.V. Club
- ^ "Night Palace by Mount Eerie Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
- ^ Kornhaber, Spencer (December 17, 2024). "The 10 Best Albums of 2024". theatlantic.com. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
- ^ Beats Per Minute Staff (December 18, 2024). "BPM's Top 50 Albums of 2024". beatsperminute.com. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
- ^ The Fader music staff. "The 50 best albums of 2024". thefader.com. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
- ^ Pitchfork Staff (December 3, 2024). "The 50 Best Albums of 2024". pitchfork.com. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
- ^ Sayles, Justin (December 11, 2024). "The Ringer's 30 Best Albums of 2024". The Ringer. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
- ^ Slant Staff (December 12, 2024). "The 50 Best Albums of 2024". slantmagazine.com. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
- ^ Stereogum Staff (December 2, 2024). "The 50 Best Albums of 2024". stereogum.com. Retrieved December 20, 2024.