Mt. Joy are currently riding the crest of a wave with over 30 million streams on Spotify for their self-titled debut album. That takes some doing. In fact, it’s got the LA-via-Philadelphia five-piece a physical release for the record and they’ll be visiting Europe and the UK later in the year. That’s the story. The music itself? It grabs you. Opener ‘I’m Your Wreck’ comes on like The Lumineers following the discovering of electricity, while the likes of ‘Dirty Love’ and ‘Silver Lining’ have a full-throated, sturm und drang quality that will set toes tapping and tongues wagging.
Named after a mountain in Valley Forge National Park, Mt. Joy make music rooted in American soil with guitars and vocal melodies dominating. Stand-out track ‘Bigfoot’ is a folk-rocker (“spin like the record I was making for you”), ‘Sheep’ a ballad that shares a space with, say, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, while the gorgeous ‘Julia’ is a Stax-esque soul weeper with fine falsetto, Fender Rhodes and hot licks.
Sure, there’s a few left turns into some interesting places (the title track), but it’s in the wide open spaces of the roads travelled by the likes of The Band and The Felice Brothers before that Mt. Joy find the sweet spots.
Take a load off and enjoy.
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- 7/10
7/10
Summary
A brand new band stretching out and finding their own way along well-travelled roads
