Indie-rock band releases political single days before election
Matt Villanueva, Features Editor
Since the inauguration of President Donald Trump, there has been no shortage of political anthems criticizing his administration. From Fiona Apple’s song “Tiny Hands,” to Death Cab for Cuties’ “Million Dollar Loan,” to The Avett Brothers’s album “Closer than Together” to the obvious anthem “FTD” by Nipsey Hustle.
Indie-rock band Mt. Joy released their political anthem on Oct. 30 titled “New President.”
Introduced softly with Jackie Miclau on the keyboard, lead singer Matt Quinn quickly harmonizes into the first verse, “Well it might not work better give it all your energy. Might not work and it goes so slow.”
Quinn continues, “And I know it now and I want you to see me tear it down. Yeah I don’t know how things got so f***ed up, and I don’t know why we’d give up.”
Despite the political message, Mt. Joy’s sound is similar to their previous works. With Quinn’s tenor it is a perfect combination with Miclau on the keyboard and Sam Cooper’s acoustic guitar, the band does not seem to sacrifice the message for sound.
The song’s premise is as obvious as the title itself, but amplified in the chorus as Quinn chants, “We need a new president, we should fall in love again.” Quinn echoes the statement another time in each chorus making their message as clear as his voice.
When discussing the song with Atwood Magazine, Quinn said, “The idea that ‘we need a new president we need to fall in love again’ could be the two most important things to a number of Americans right now is not unlikely. For better or for worse, many people are just now waking up to the impetus of contributing to our democratic society, and it’s strange to bear the weight of that responsibility in light of how disastrously the current president has treated the job.”
They continue on the next verse, “We’re gonna march down this boulevard, we’re going to march down right now. We’re gonna tear down these fascist clowns, we’re gonna tear them down now.”
Quinn said in the same Atwood Magazine interview, “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.”
After another chorus, Mt. Joy divulges into a bridge, “I’m sorry, same story, same story, same fools.” They repeat the phrase three more times before a concluding chorus.
In another interview with DMagazine, Quinn explained their new single, “[New president] is kind of a reaction to this moment, and trying to capture this weird, crazy energy of this election, and really hoping for a change. At least from our perspective, we really are hoping for people to go out and vote, and we’re hoping that we have a new president soon.”
Rather than screaming and tweeting “vote” at their fans, Mt. Joy’s new release is a beautiful artistic protest that resonates across their diverse fanbase only four days before one of the most consequential elections of our lifetimes.
villanjv18@bonaventure.edu
