Stream: Mt. Joy, ‘New President’

Jessica Shalvoy on October 30th, 2020

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Amidst early voting and the election just days away, it’s not difficult to imagine what could possibly inspire Mt. Joy to release a new single called “New President.” The track marks the first new music from the quintet since the release of their sophomore album, “Rearrange Us,” in June.

Since then, “Rearrange Us” had Mt. Joy atop Billboard’s top-selling vinyl albums chart, performing TV’s late-night circuit, playing live streams and doing a string of socially distant drive-in shows. However, with 2020 being … well, 2020, the band has done everything they can to make a difference. They donated 100% of first-week album profits to Campaign Zero, a nonprofit dedicated to ending police violence, and they’ve raised over $30,000 from an Instagram Live stream for MusiCares and Philabundance. Now, with election day around the corner, Mt. Joy are using their voices to encourage others to go out and vote.

As one could guess from the title, “New President” (produced by Caleb Nelson) showcases a different kind of heartbreak and hope, further revealing Mt. Joy’s social and political activist side. “The new song is centered on the idea that America reminds me of the arc of so many failed relationships,” says frontman Matt Quinn. “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.”

The track still contains the catchy Americana-themed indie rock you’d expect. Starting with Quinn’s gorgeously quivering vocals singing “I don’t know how things got so fucked up, and I don’t know why we’d give up” over an acoustic guitar. As the song builds with a forceful, driving beat, Quinn goes from a quiver to a howl with “We’re gonna march down this boulevard. We’re gonna march down right now. We’re gonna tear down these fascist clowns.”

Protesting made the frontman more optimistic than expected. “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,” explains Quinn. Mt. Joy seem to be on the same draining emotional rollercoaster of dread and hope as the rest of us, but at least they make stunning songs with it. However, “don’t get me wrong,” adds Quinn, “fuck Donald Trump.”

||| Stream: “New President”