Review / Mt. Joy @ The Louisiana

By Ellen Kinsey, Fourth year, Film and French

Ellen Kinsey reviews Mt. Joy at The Louisiana

The 29th of October was a glacial one, the walk to The Louisiana chilled me to the bone: quite fitting for Halloween week! Mt. Joy, a quintet decked in plaid, baseball caps and hailing from Philadelphia, USA brought rootsy Americana to chilly Bristol. The Louisiana, an intimate venue was the perfect stage for the unpretentious band. It felt more like a jam session in the back garden with their relaxed conversation and audience participation.

To make the experience more intimate and inclusive, the audience was united due to the band suffering many technical hitches with the sound monitors. From lead man, Matt Quinn getting mildly electrocuted by the microphone throughout the gig, to the room being filled with static, cracklings speakers; matched with the technical glitch light-show that made for a spooky, atmospheric, Halloween special.

Mt. Joy are fairly new to the music scene, with their patent folk-rock sound. They smashed it with their well-ordered set-list wherein if closing your eyes and slipping into a daydream, their chosen songs could reflect an all-American road trip. Their tracks resonating from their battered secondhand car at a gas station, surrounded by the alpine scape.

An illusory roundtrip soundtrack with resonances of the jazzy sweet south, rock’n’roll melodies of the immense urban cities and the folky rustic songs of American country and suburbia. Their lyrical storytelling, chill vibe and unpretentiousness turns the experience into a campfire sing-song with the participation from the crowd.

Introducing the rhythm of the night with Matt Quinn on vocals, Sam Cooper, Michael Byrnes on bass, Sotiris Eliopoulos on drums, and Jackie Miclau on the keyboard was the soulful rock anthem 'Big Foot', followed by the folksy 'Jenny Jenkins' and comical 'Astrovan'. Following with my personal favourite, 'Dirty Love', which delivered a nice change of pace. With Quinn’s scratchy deep vocals almost synonymous to The Black Keys' lead singer Daniel Quine Auerbach, he matched the passion that can be heard on the track.

Opening with the ukulele which transfigured into a progressively more intense drum beat that escalates the sentiment of the song. Continuing with their heartstring-tugging followed, 'I’m Your Wreck' and political anthem and crowd pleaser 'Sheep'. The self-titled song 'Mt. Joy' and 'Younger Days' were next with their sweet riffage and beat. We were presented a lovely mélange of jazzy 'Julia' and classic 'Ain’t No Sunshine', for their sultry penultimate song. Ending with their most famous sing-along foot-stomping tune 'Silver Lining', Mt. Joy’s charming performance and the venue’s atmosphere engendered a sensory gig.

Their lyrical storytelling and plucky melodies place them in the same category as perhaps The Lumineers and Edward Sharpe and the magnetic zeroes. Bursting with hearty genuineness that such American folk-indie bands are so often associated, Mt. Joy are not only good story-tellers but charismatic performers. Their sound has gotten off to a great start, and I am excited to hear more from this band in future.

Featured Image: Mt. Joy/ Dualtone Music Group

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