Drawing influences from icons Neil Young and David Bowie as well as alt-country stars like Bill Callahan and Townes Van Zandt, Belaver creates melancholic pop music with elements of goth, folk, lo-fi, indie rock, and electronic music.
With a clear and keen sense for alt-rock execution, Belaver forges some sort of post-punk meets indie-pop hybrid of his own design on “Mount Misery.” A song void of overdone production gleam, eradicated of fluff, “Mount Misery” is perfect in its imperfections, not unlike a single from Sebadoh or Guided by Voices.
“Mount Misery is the name of the estate of former secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld. It was given that name as a plantation because it was known for its brutality to slaves. Mount Misery is also the name of a long island town. Formerly known for its asylum, now known for having one of the most haunted streets in America Mount Misery is also other things. One of them is a song about what it means to be American. Any American who isn’t living with their own mountain of misery should give some thought to these examples of it, and consider why they haven’t had to share that experience.”
