The album is out today; Mount Eerie plays Neptune Theatre in Seattle on April 19.

The album is out today; Mount Eerie plays Neptune Theatre in Seattle on April 19.

The album is out today; Mount Eerie plays Neptune Theatre in Seattle on April 19.

The new Mount Eerie album, A Crow Looked at Me, begins with a perfect statement of the contradiction that comes up again and again through its devastated, devastating 42-minute length, less a motif than a Sphinx riddle: “Death is real,” Phil Elverum sings, or half-sings, or manages to sing. “Someone’s there and then they’re not / And it’s not for singing about / It’s not for making into art.”

And yet…

Sean Nelson has worked at The Stranger on and off since 1996. He is currently Editor-at-Large. His past job titles included: Assistant Editor, Associate Editor, Film Editor, Copy Editor, Web Editor, Slog...