Mt. Joy

About

When Mt. Joy came together to record their sophomore album, Rearrange Us, the band was in rough shape—adrift in a miasma of situational and romantic agony, digging themselves out of relationships that had soured in the harsh light of a life permanently spent in a van somewhere between Stockton and Peoria.

Not that Mt. Joy wasn’t grateful for the opportunity to live out even the most wayward chapters of the archetypical rock-and-roll narrative. The band’s 2018 Dualtone Records debut was nothing short of life-changing.

Over the course of a year, what was first a bedroom project was now a band that Rolling Stone called “your new folk-rock heroes.” Industry publications called the album “a major breakthrough” (Billboard), and single Silver Lining hit #1 on the AAA Radio Charts. New fans—earned ear-by-ear with every tour stop and festival play— were singing along at sold out club dates.

As band members coped with relationships that had literally disintegrated days before the beginning of sessions for Rearrange Us, they found comfort in their makeshift family of circus runaways—and, in suffering together, set about writing an album that looked themselves in the mirror and asked, “Are we all right?”

The resulting project is a triumph of spirit and self-knowledge: Rearrange Us—produced by Tucker Martine (My Morning Jacket, Modest Mouse)—is the sound of a band growing into themselves both musically and personally. Matt Quinn’s songwriting is at once more painterly and less precise, like perfectly rendered vignettes from a largely disjointed memory of a dream, as the band veers from folk-stomps to psychedelic reflections to gospel elegies with a well-honed verve, all to create a welcome salve to the transience of getting older and chasing a dream.

There are two stories you can tell as a songwriter: yours or someone else’s. Amy Allen not only tells the stories of some of the biggest artists in the world as a songwriter, but she also shares her story as an artist. By 10 years old, Amy began writing songs for herself and learned five instruments. After graduating from Berklee College of Music, she founded New York indie upstart band, Amy & The Engine. In 2018, she wrote Back To You by Selena Gomez and opened up the floodgates to collaborate with A-list talent, including Halsey, Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes, Sam Smith, and Harry Styles. Forbes named her on the coveted “30 Under 30” list, while Variety dubbed her “Hitmaker of the Month.” Reclaiming her passion for performing in 2020, she introduced her sound as an artist on her first solo releases for Warner Records. All of her past experience has led her to this point, to creating a collection of personal and meaningful songs that are lived-in tales, reminiscent of the American troubadours that have come before her—heroes like Tom Petty or Sheryl Crow, Carole King,  John Prine, or Bruce Springsteen. Heralded by these initial song releases and a debut album to follow in 2021, Amy Allen tells her own story now.