Album Reviews: Nina Nesbitt – Mountain Music
3 min readScottish indie-folk singer, Nina Nesbitt has spent much of her life in the spotlight. She began gaining attention aged just fifteen with her song covers on YouTube, but truly came into the public eye through her relationship and collaborations with Ed Sheeran. After so much attention on her private life, Mountain Music seeks to reclaim her independence with its thoughtful reflective vibe. Recorded in her home studio and launching her label “Apple Studios” as its first album release, it is the most personal project yet.
Most of the songs on Mountain Music have a stripped-back, almost acoustic vibe. Mansion, a wrenching track where Nesbitt reassures the listener of their self-worth, has a quiet guitar backing allowing her gravelly vocals to shine. Alchemise, takes it a step further using natural sounds like rustling leaves and running water in the backing, as Nesbitt ruminates on reconnecting with nature. The more limited production allows the vocals and lyrics centre stage. However, Big Dreams Small Town stands out for its full-band backing. In an ode to small-town life, Nesbitt lets go of the quieter tones with a joyous drumbeat. The native lyrics tell the tale of a man moving “from the city” and finding joy in the small things. The sound is nostalgic and catchy, uplifting and fun making it one of the album’s most memorable songs.
Throughout the album, Nesbit draws a throughline with the use of war imagery when reflecting on more difficult situations. In Parachute, Nesbitt sings about how she “spent her whole life away from the front lines” as she explores her insecurities with charming vulnerability. The piano backing and low register vocals making it a muted track. She repeats the metaphor in What Will Make Me Great, asking changing is for the better and likening herself to a “father after the war”. But the imagery is the strongest in Treachery, where mentions of “bullets”, “spitfires” and “bleeding out” abound. The song is quietly heartbreaking with dreamy vocals as Nesbitt sings, “I tell myself you’ve gone to war so you’ll be a hero” about an ex-lover.
While Nesbitt delves into dark imagery for her sadder songs, her love for nature and for her home country of Scotland abounds in her more upbeat tracks. In I’m on the Run, Nesbitt asks her lover to run away with her to the “lochs [she] used to know”. The echoed choral style backing vocals, gives the track a dreamy feel that’s grounded by her more strained vocals. In pages, Nesbitt draws parallels between the Appalachian music she’s been inspired by and more traditional Scottish folk. She blends in a touch of Americana as she references “motel rooms” in “Idaho”, along with her “Scottish humour”. The folky sound is powerful and affecting. But it’s most evident in I’m Coming Home an uplifting and hopeful tune that celebrates a return home to Scotland. She gently weaves concerns about wealth inequality as she sings about “castles and housing schemes” into her genuine joy, keeping the track grounded. It’s a heartfelt and deeply moving track that shows her complicated feelings and overwhelming love.
With Mountain Music, Nesbitt reflects on her past and shows a wistful optimism towards her future. The tracks can be slow and pared back, but the creative lyricism only gets more powerful with repeated listens. The album as a whole is very strong and despite its melancholy tracks Mountain Music leaves you feeling positive and uplifted.