Steeped in a vibrant vocal performance, Mt. Joy passionately cries out for change, demanding stronger leadership. This is a song that carefully walks the line between finely scribed Americana with virtuous sonic elements. Check it out below…
Mt. Joy front-man describes the inspiration behind “New President”
“The cocktail of a willfully mismanaged pandemic and the most important and divisive election in my lifetime has been dizzying. I think it hit me especially hard because I started the pandemic living in New York City. Obviously, it was a terrifying and tragic time to be in New York, but it was all so surreal that I don’t think I really wrapped my head around it until months later.
I moved to Philadelphia and was able to start writing again. New President started as an exercise for my anxiety. We were losing shows in a way that made me genuinely unsure if the band was over. I was overwhelmed by it all and I needed to write something that captured the moment emotionally.
The song is centered on the idea that America reminds me of the arc of so many failed relationships. The issues start piling up and we recognize that there are issues, but we let go and don’t exert the energy to fix them. So, now we are at the breaking point. We have to put all of our energy into fixing these problems or else, among other things, we will lose our freedom.
I had the opportunity to get out and protest and it made me somewhat optimistic. There are so many more people that want equality and a world where human rights are inalienable rights. So, I hope the song captures the feeling of realizing we are at the final breaking point, but feeling hopeful that we can still fix it if we do it together. And don’t get me wrong, Fuck Donald Trump.
For this song we worked with our friend and original producer Caleb Nelson (Astrovan, first version of Sheep and Cardinal). We wanted to capture the contrast of anxiety and hope in the arrangement. We tracked this on the road in Chicago (name of studio. jack?) and we were so excited that the studio had vibraphones. Vibes are such a beautiful and peaceful sounding instrument, we just felt like they complimented the edge that the rest of the arrangement brings really well.
The references for this track were more contemporary in general, specifically I remember listening to a Foals song called Spanish Sahara and being inspired by the way they captured a sense of anxiety sonically in that track. ”
