The brooding country star returned to higher altitudes while making his ninth album, which was written and recorded in Telluride, Colorado's lofty Studio in the Clouds. But The Mountain is no rehash of Bentley's high-flying hit "Drunk On A Plane" – instead, it's an introspective album that grapples with the low points of everyday existence, even when it's conjuring mental images of the sun-bleached bacchanalia Burning Man. Bentley's lightly drawled baritone handles lovelorn pleas (the glum yet fast-talking "Goodbye in Telluride") and defiant anthems ("You Can't Bring Me Down," which balances its stock-taking with "na-na-na"-borne cheekiness and Sam Bush's deft mandolin playing) equally well, and it braids beautifully with Brandi Carlile's formidable belt on the clean-slate celebration "Travelin' Light." The Mountain closes with "How I'm Going Out," a slide-guitar-tinged reflection on future endings; it's full of gratitude for the past while reminding listeners that final moments can trigger new beginnings.