Posts Tagged ‘Sam Cooper’

MT JOY – ” Rearrange Us “

Posted: June 14, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Mt. Joy co-founders Matt Quinn and Sam Cooper have enjoyed somewhat of a boomerang-like creative relationship.
A journey that saw both drift apart after high school and reunite following subsequent relocation to Los Angeles, a crossing of paths that led to the outfit’s formation four years ago. A 2018 self-titled debut would later follow, offering a slice of soulful, if rather ubiquitous, middle-of-the-road fare, tracing the footsteps of a myriad acts crowding the field of contemporary folk.

The latter trend is marginally upheld on Rearrange Us, the furniture ever so slightly repositioned, dusted down and daubed with new paint; the stronger crossover elements of their first album transposed into tighter and brighter entities that are given increasing space to breathe. Tracks such as “Death” present the band branching into more effusive mood-summoning aptitude, alternating as it does between plush guitar hooks and placid piano floss, despite the killjoy sentiment of its title. The slacker retro-tapping “Let Loose” harnesses similar energy, Quinn’s vocals crooning in sync with rippling keys, “Witness” wearing the unmistakeable influence of Conor Oberst on its plaid-clad sleeve. This along with the feel-good balladry of “Strangers”, inoffensive and breezy as it is, may prove enough to briefly distract from current woes or just as easily reinforce them – dosing on a cheery, happy-go-lucky balladry astutely designed for the benefit of set-closers.

As far as second albums go, Mt. Joy amble beyond the tentative trepidation of previous output. And while perhaps trite to invite comparison with Mumford & Sons’ banjo-playing antics, both seem geared towards similar objectives nonetheless – moments, in this case, baring more than a passing resemblance to the barnstorming bombast encouraged by the London-based quartet. It is a sure-fire formula that underpins Rearrange Us, aiming for arena-heights and just about reaching such.

Witness is out now. It’s one of our favourite recordings we’ve ever made. It’s a heavy tune, but there’s real redemption in getting to tell your story in song. It’s been amazing to see the response to it, and we can’t wait for you to hear how these songs fit into the record we made. Our producer Tucker Martine crushed it.  Special thanks to Patti King, Mirabai Peart, and Anna Fritz for the strings on this one. We are so proud of this damn record

Mt. Joy “Strangers”  available on Dualtone Music Group, 
Released on: 2020-02-19

Mt JOY – ” Rearrange “

Posted: April 9, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Mt. Joy started off as a rekindling of shared musical ambitions between high school friends Matt Quinn (vocals, guitar) and Sam Cooper (guitar). Reunited in Los Angeles thanks to the ebbs and flows of adult life, the pair met multi-instrumentalist Michael Byrnes through a Craigslist ad. They named themselves Mt. Joy as an ode to a mountain in Valley Forge National Park near Sam’s childhood home.

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Another song from the new record, ‘My Vibe’, with a video by Steve Girard. The song’s about learning to let yourself have fun when you’ve been feeling down, and we hope it can help right now,

We’re officially starting to roll this album out. So excited to share this music with you

Releases May 5th, 2020

MT JOY – ” Jenny Jenkins ” Live At Paste Studio

Posted: January 25, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Developing its musical roots in Philadelphia, Mt. Joy ,one of the new class of bands set to release its self-titled debut album on March 2nd. Founding members Matt Quinn (vocals/guitar) and Sam Cooper (guitar) have been making music since the early 2000s. However, it wasn’t until several years ago that the two came together and began to write songs that would form the foundation of their debut album. Mt. Joy combines old-school classic rock and touches of rootsy acoustic music with vibrant, well-crafted songs that overflow with hooks, tenderness and singalong moments.

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In the wistful and nostalgic “Jenny Jenkins,” from Mt. Joy’s forthcoming debut, Quinn’s emotional phrasing leaves him pleading and quivering with desire. While not a rendition of the traditional folk song of the same name, Mt. Joy’s tune does have a connection to the cover of it by Jerry Garcia and David Grisman.

“‘Jenny Jenkins’ is a song I wrote about moving to Los Angeles,” Quinn writes via email. “Growing up in the Philadelphia area, I feel like I was exposed to a lot of ‘real’ grounded people. L.A. was kind of a culture shock — a lot of people offering meetings that don’t materialize and just a general culture of false promises. I even found out the palm trees were imported, and was just feeling pretty down on myself and the city. The song was put together as a song of appreciation for my girlfriend, who was my only real ally in the city at that time. As a tip of the cap to some of my heroes, I used the name of one of my favorite folk songs from a record my dad always used to play by Jerry Garcia and David Grisman, ‘Jenny Jenkins.'”

Mt. Joy – Jenny Jenkins Recorded Live: 1/16/2018 – Paste Studios – New York, NY