Richmond - The evening began as a melodic punk/hardcore kind of night, with Living With Lions and Lemuria giving a full house at the Camel exactly what they wanted: energetic, hooky rock 'n’ roll.  The show headliners, Polar Bear Club, were also of this vein, so imagine my surprise when Moving Mountains showed up and started playing their brand of New York post-whatever.

The band, which consists of Greg Dunn (vocals/guitar), Frank Graniero (guitar), Mitch Lee (bass), and Nick Pizzolato (drums), started their set on this night with a series of ambient soundscapes.  From there, the band launched into a genre-hopping set, swapping ambience for passages of heavy sludge mixed with upbeat indie grooves.  In talking with the band, they claim influence from bands such as Explosions in the Sky, which while not a huge stretch, doesn’t give Moving Mountains enough credit for their own diverse approach.

Also displayed throughout the set was the band’s electric onstage dynamic, which combined a kind of intensity with youthful exuberance.  It seems that some bands hitting the road to play post-fillintheblank gain a jaded sense of music, a holier than thou take on the art of playing loudly to sweaty, angsty young people. Fortunately, not these guys, as it’s clear they are still one of those same sweaty kids, just a little better versed in the intricacies of forward-thinking music.

Speaking of forward thinking music, their latest album Foreword came out in 2008 with Caetera Recordings, with a vinyl version released in 2009.  According to the band, Moving Mountains will soon be back in the studio to record a new full-length, which may or may not be self-released.

Moving Mountains on MySpace