Aiming for arena highs, Mt. Joy recenter their horizons

A journey that saw both drift apart after high school and reunite following subsequent relocation to Los Angeles, a crossing of paths that led to the outfit’s formation four years ago. A 2018 self-titled debut would later follow, offering a slice of soulful, if rather ubiquitous, middle-of-the-road fare, tracing the footsteps of a myriad acts crowding the field of contemporary folk.

The latter trend is marginally upheld on Rearrange Us, the furniture ever so slightly repositioned, dusted down and daubed with new paint; the stronger crossover elements of their first album transposed into tighter and brighter entities that are given increasing space to breathe. Tracks such as “Death” present the band branching into more effusive mood-summoning aptitude, alternating as it does between plush guitar hooks and placid piano floss, despite the killjoy sentiment of its title. The slacker retro-tapping “Let Loose” harnesses similar energy, Quinn’s vocals crooning in sync with rippling keys, “Witness” wearing the unmistakeable influence of Conor Oberst on its plaid-clad sleeve. This along with the feel-good balladry of “Strangers”, inoffensive and breezy as it is, may prove enough to briefly distract from current woes or just as easily reinforce them - dosing on a cheery, happy-go-lucky balladry astutely designed for the benefit of set-closers.

As far as second albums go, Mt. Joy amble beyond the tentative trepidation of previous output. And while perhaps trite to invite comparison with Mumford & Sons’ banjo-playing antics, both seem geared towards similar objectives nonetheless - moments, in this case, baring more than a passing resemblance to the barnstorming bombast encouraged by the London-based quartet. It is a sure-fire formula that underpins Rearrange Us, aiming for arena-heights and just about reaching such.