A few years ago, This American Life had a short piece on their show about a radio station that changed formats. On their first day broadcasting the new format, this station filled it with bumpers and promos of people saying how much they loved this station and listened to it all the time. They postured themselves as a station that was dependable and had longevity, even though history indicated otherwise. I think that’s the best way to roll out a new blog. We’ve always been here and we always will be.
The band we’re featuring this week is Mount Righteous from Grapevine, TX, a 10-piece indie rock marching band that puts on the best live show I’ve ever seen. Anytime you can see a sousaphone, accordion, marching bass drum, and steel drum accompanied by saccharine lyrics about driving a car or going to see a show, it’s going to leave an impression. Watching them crowd into a dive that’s the size of my kitchen, play for 45 minutes, then march outside to do an encore in the parking lot while hosting a limbo competition is the very definition of amazing. Their first album, When The Music Starts, is full of catchy singalongs and hooks that instantly grab you.
Upon first listen of their self-titled album that they released in 2010, I was more than disappointed with what I heard. I felt like a young teenager at Newport absolutely crushed that Dylan went electric. The songs are faster and have a harsher tone to them. Instead of happy singalongs, vocals are distorted through megaphones. An electric guitar replaces the chorus of acoustic guitars. But…something about it compelled me to listen again. I kept revisiting it and discovering new and interesting components of the songs. Over and over again. It has an amazing amount of energy that doesn’t offer any respite or breathing room for the entirety of its 10 tracks. This is a track off of their self-titled album, it’s called “Mesa Maravillosa.”
- Posted by Randall La Rue 
