Home → Manchester Orchestra → A Black Mile to the Surface
A Black Mile to the Surface
Rock · 2017 · 11 tracks · 49m

A Black Mile to the Surface

Manchester Orchestra

A cinematic cycle of interconnected songs exploring family and mortality. Massive vocal harmonies meet mountain-sized crescendos in a lush, post-rock landscape.

Find on Amazon

It's like a big-budget indie movie for your ears about family, ghosts, and South Dakota.

A cinematic and deeply cathartic exploration of family legacy and existential wonder.

A Black Mile to the Surface · vs · Manchester Orchestra
Mountain+4.0σ

Mountain saturates this record far more than the artist's norm.

Tracklist · 11 Tracks · 49m
01
The Wolf
4:27
01
The Maze
2:58
02
The Gold
4:33
02
The Mistake
3:54
03
The Parts
4:12
03
The Moth
4:36
04
The Silence
6:59
04
Lead, SD
4:53
05
The Alien
5:29
06
The Sunshine
1:57
07
The Grocery
5:12
Moments Worth Waiting For
The seamless transition between The Alien, The Sunshine, and The Grocery that feels like a single ten-minute breath.
The final two minutes of The Silence where the percussion and vocal layers swell into a massive, heart-stopping wall of sound.
The intimate, dry vocal opening of The Maze that sounds like someone whispering directly into your ear.
Sits BesideSee all
The Million Masks of God
The Million Masks of God
Manchester Orchestra
2021

Shares cathartic, contemplative, haunting (moods); indie rock, chamber pop, art rock (subgenres)

Hummingbird
Hummingbird
Local Natives
2013

Shares layered_dense, reverb_heavy, dynamic_range (production style); indie rock, chamber pop, art rock (subgenres)

5AM
5AM
Amber Run
2015

Shares layered_dense, reverb_heavy, dynamic_range (production style); harmonized, vocal_layering, falsetto (vocal style)

Crystal Sounds
Crystal Sounds
Thirteen Senses
2011

Shares indie rock, post-rock, chamber pop (subgenres); layered_dense, reverb_heavy, dynamic_range (production style)

Shields
Shields
Grizzly Bear
2012

Shares layered_dense, reverb_heavy, dynamic_range (production style); indie rock, chamber pop, art rock (subgenres)

Philophobia
Philophobia
Amber Run
2019

Shares layered_dense, reverb_heavy, dynamic_range (production style); indie rock, chamber pop, art rock (subgenres)

Falls in the Dark
Falls in the Dark
Thirteen Senses
2003

Shares indie rock, post-rock, chamber pop (subgenres); reverb_heavy, layered_dense, analog_warmth (production style)

Simple Math
Simple Math
Manchester Orchestra
2011

Shares harmonized, vocal_layering, falsetto (vocal style); indie rock, chamber pop, art rock (subgenres)

LN
Local Natives
Local Natives

Shares layered_dense, reverb_heavy, studio_polished (production style); indie rock, chamber pop, art rock (subgenres)

Everything All the Time
Everything All the Time
Band of Horses
2006

Shares indie rock, folk rock, chamber pop (subgenres); reverb_heavy, analog_warmth, layered_dense (production style)

Reviews
AllMusic
Read review

Cassette uses generative AI to enrich its catalog. How we use AI →