A gritty, slow-burning triumph of heartland Americana and tightly wound post-punk, Racing Mount Pleasant’s self-titled debut paints vivid, late-night vignettes of small-town restlessness. Drawing on Springsteen’s cinematic storytelling and the raw immediacy of early The Walkmen. Each track hums with lowlight urgency – barroom epiphanies and the ache of chasing meaning in the mundane. It’s a quietly anthemic debut that already feels like a trusted companion.
Racing Mount Pleasant (formerly Kingfisher) are an indie band from Ann Arbor, Michigan. After forming under the name Kingfisher at the University of Michigan, they released their debut album “Grip Your Fist, I’m Heaven Bound” in November 2022. In 2025, they changed their name to Racing Mount Pleasant and announced a second album. Their musical style has been compared to bands such as Bon Iver, Lord Huron, and Black Country, New Road.
Racing Mount Pleasant’s live shows are often bespoke to each venue, using projectors synced to the music and sometimes telling the audience to sit instead of stand in order to “command attention in a way that [doesn’t] ask for much”. Their performances have been praised for their intimacy, immersion, and detail.
“Grip Your Fist, I’m Heaven Bound” is the debut album from Racing Mount Pleasant, a Michigan-based indie group blending folk, chamber pop, and post-rock influences into sweeping yet intimate songs. Released in 2022, the record layers strings, horns, and textured vocals to create an emotional soundscape that feels both grand and personal. Across its ten tracks including “Annie,” “Holy Hell,” and the title pieces, the band explores themes of longing, faith, love, and personal tension, delivering a debut that’s ambitious in scope and deeply evocative in mood.
The Fat Angel Sings 