Finding a Silver Lining with Mt. Joy
Mt. Joy works together in indie-rock harmony to remind listeners that in the end … it’s really not that serious.
Written by Claire Hookstra
Illustrated by Lydia Walker
A common motif in today’s indie genre, the idea of perpetual sadness, suffocates “sad girl” Spotify playlists and TikTok trends. Though sometimes it proves beneficial to cry it out, indie-rock band Mt. Joy reminds listeners that life isn’t all pain and remorse. There’s still bright melodies of love and light, even amidst indie’s dominating minor keys of melancholy.
In several pockets of the band’s sound, style, and substance, Mt. Joy plants messages of happiness and hope, the most prominent being in the positive energy of the group itself. The five-piece Philadelphia indie rock band radiates camaraderie throughout their discography. Made up of vocalist Matt Quinn, guitarist Sam Cooper, drummer Sotiris Eliopoulos, bassist Michael Byrnes, and keyboardist Jackie Miclau, the band’s work is a complete group effort. The vibrations of teamwork are heard through Mt. Joy’s anthems of perseverance. Listen closely and one can pick apart the classically trained talent of Miclau shadowed behind Byrnes’ intense bass lines and Cooper’s crisp guitar riffs. Combined, the unique styles of each musician create the perfect harmony of an indie rock dream. Notes of togetherness echo as each instrument is layered atop one another. This phenomenon leads the listener to feel included in the friendship that defines Mt. Joy, or rather an honorary member of the “Astrofam,” the proud title of the band’s dedicated fanbase.
The infectious, fellow feeling that divaricates from Mt. Joy’s tracks pushes the band to stand out in this commonly melancholic genre. Overlapping vocals, intricate metaphors, and prolonged groovy jams add unpredictable qualities to their tunes. Mt. Joy, the band’s first record, begins the treacherous winding path to finding self-fulfilling triumph that stretches over three albums.
Photo courtesy of Natalie Anspach
An analysis of Quinn’s internal consciousness and self-awareness, the quintessential “I’m Your Wreck” soothes the pain of being nothing short of a complete mess. “Try to avoid the pollution from this revolution / Try to see the dust on the stars,” Quinn’s raspy voice renders throughout the second verse. Without denying that there are pain and sorrows in his life, he tries to see past these challenges and look to the starlight ahead. The “dust” collects on the stars, but the light remains, awaiting him. “This is headlights in the fog,” he draws out at the end of the bridge, just before a complete tempo change of the track. The instrumentals swell into a single cymbal crash, swiftly changing into a bluesy and guitar-heavy jam. The tune emphasizes that even if life turns into a total wreck, there’s still a way to navigate through the dark and find the sunshine once again.
The band reached astronomical success as headliners for The Head and the Heart in 2017, subsequently releasing their self-titled first album the following year. They’ve since released two more albums, all with a general theme of pursuing happiness. The 2020 release of Rearrange Us is ultimately a breakup album; however, it’s more about the overcoming of a breakup rather than the despair of the process. Quinn chants, “Move ‘til you feel better / Get yourself together,” throughout “My Vibe.” The keyboard captivates the song, implementing an experimental groove to the track. Though simple, Mt. Joy meaningfully urges their listeners to overcome tough times and “move” through the pain. “A song to sing to get you through / I hope it makes you feel better than ever,” Quinn asserts near the end of the track. “My Vibe” brilliantly showcases the quintessential essence of hope that lies within the lyrics and sound of Mt. Joy’s music.
Emotive and infused with psychedelic rock, Mt. Joy’s most recent album, Orange Blood, is overflowing with reflections of reconnecting with loved ones, nature, and oneself. With blossoming instrumental arrangements and experimental sounds, Orange Blood stays true to Mt. Joy’s roots with feel-good ballads. “I just found a lemon tree / It’s a bad day for my enemies,” Quinn wittily croons at the start of “Lemon Tree,” a spin on the cliché of making lemonade out of lemons. A gentle and steady guitar riff starts the song off before the bewitching synth and exquisitely hypnotic energy takes over the track altogether. Erratic drumming patterns and piano notes boom over the song, sonically resembling a euphoric realization of ultimate jubilation.
Unique is an understatement when describing the catalog of Mt. Joy. Combining indie folk with psychedelic rock and an essence of stomp and holler, the distinctive sound of the band is unabashedly unmatched by any other. Lyrically, the songs are raw with emotion, hope, and the personal influence of vocalist Matt Quinn. Recognizing the unfairness and pain of life, their tracks are odes to the better times ahead. Love, friends, nature, and even spending time alone can lead to the enigma of happiness that humans desire.
Heartache, loneliness, and pure sorrow seem to dominate the indie music scene, drowning its fans in melancholia and pain. Negative emotions are vital to the human experience and artistic expression, but so arelife’s joyous and meaningful qualities. Though it can be utterly terrible, life has moments worth living for, and Mt. Joy is here to remind their listeners of just that. Recognizing life’s greatest hardships, the band highlights the impermanence of pain and sorrow. Their wishful ballads of self-growth and perseverance aid their fans in finding the light at the end of the tunnel, the laughter among the tears, and, most importantly … the silver lining. Mt. Joy’s music reminds us all that in the end, “everything’s exactly where it needs to be.”