Stream: Mt. Joy, ‘Rearrange Us’

Kevin Bronson on June 5th, 2020

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Usually album releases come with a lot of fanfare — a social media blitz, a flurry of press blasts, a big tour. Mt. Joy’s sophomore album “Rearrange Us” arrives today with an apology.

“We didn’t push back [the release of] our album when COVID-19 struck because we thought our music could create a welcome distraction from reality,” the band said on social media this week. “However, when George Floyd was murdered, we tried to move the release date because the last thing we want now is to be a distraction from reality. Unfortunately, it was too late, and the album will be out [today]. … There will be no celebration for now.”

No matter the world’s calamities, the Los Angeles-via-Philadelphia folk-rockers, led by Matt Quinn, have crafted a batch of a warm and engaging songs that will give comfort to fans of artists such as the Lumineers, Cold War Kids and Delta Spirit. While “Rearrange Us,” produced by Tucker Martine (My Morning Jacket, Modest Mouse, Neko Case), won’t win any points for coloring outside the lines, Mt. Joy’s comfy AOR sound lets Quinn’s palpable earnestness shine. If we were experiencing anything resembling a normal summer, this would be an album for it.

The band is donating 100% of first-week proceeds to Campaign Zero, an initiative aimed at ending police violence.

||| Watch: The video for “My Vibe”