Mt. Joy (2023)

One Liner:  Pleasantly anonymous indie rock with good lyrics

Wikipedia Genre:  Alternative rock, Indie Rock, folk rock, blues rock, Americana

Home: L.A.

Poster Position: 2 (4) 
Both Weekends.
Saturday.

Thoughts: They were last here in 2018.  I didn't see them.  More kinda chilled, shaggy, happy, folky indie rock.  This year's poster seems to be heavy with those types, or else I'm just in a zone of them.  I like these tunes though, don't get me wrong, I've just been letting these dudes jam in my office all day.  Three studio albums, 2018's Mt. Joy, 2020's Rearrange Us, and 2022's Orange Blood, with a handful of singles popped out before then.

Almost all of their top tracks are from that first album though, which doesn't reflect especially well on their current success.  Well, I guess they are on the third line of the post after the headliners, so they're doing pretty well!
The top track is called "Silver Lining," and has 163.8 million streams.

Oh yeah, I'd heard that tune before.  Sounds like something my 15-year-old has on a playlist.  "my brother, let the hard stuff be..."  Nothing like a bro trip to get a smile back on your face.  Good song, a little platitude-y, but solid.  

They are a five-piece band from L.A., but with roots in Philly.  Vocals guy and guitar guy met in high school, but then reconnected in LA.  They got their start with a few singles, and then vaulted into popularity with that tune above, which charted at the top of the Billboard Adult Alternative charts.  That led to lots of festival slots (like ACL that year!) and a tour with the Lumineers that ended up getting cut short by COVID.  The band name comes from an actual mountain, in Valley Forge National Park in PA.

As I listen to that first album, I'm getting Revivalists vibes.  For the most part, I like the disc, although I can't say that I love "Astrovan," which is kind of a goofy song about Jesus driving an Astrovan.  Chorus chunk: "You know, Jesus drives an Astrovan, Yes, he does (I say: whoo)."  Whoo indeed.  And yet that track is somehow their second-most streamed overall.  I guess other people dig the Jesus minivan connection.  But I'll go with their third place song for you, this is "Strangers" from their second album - 74.8 million streams.

Do you hear that Revivalists sound in there?  I definitely do.  I was kind of hoping that those monsters would maul her in the end.

This band is pleasant and skilled at their craft.  I more than likely won't remember them at all in about two days, but they're good enough to consider giving a shot in the Fall.