Young Mountain is a six-piece alternative/post-rock band that hails from Atlanta, Georgia. The band is one that works to blend together atmospheric post-rock with lyrical themes touching on everything from loss, heartache, and mental illness.
The Young Mountain project was originally conceived as a solo outlet for Jason Mays (Slaves, Native Suns) while he released material to memorialize his late-father, but quickly needed to evolve. “Young Mountain was such an important project to me right from the start. After my father passed away, I grieved the only way I knew how – through writing music,” Mays has previously stated explaining this move. “Before I knew it, I was sitting on a pile of material that I, not only, was proud of, but saw incredible potential to expand upon. When life puts a mountain in front of you, you can either let it stop you in your tracks, or you can climb it.”
Deciding to fully shift Young Mountain into a full-fledged band, Mays recruited musicians who had previously been in internationally accredited acts that all share the same vision. The full lineup with Mays consists of Hance Alligood (Woe, Is Me, Favorite Weapon), Chris Lent (From First to Last, I Set My Friends on Fire), Michael Matejick (Of Machines, Native Suns), Matt Mulkey, and Jake Russel.
With influences ranging from This Will Destroy You (the band pulls their name from their 2006 release, Young Mountain) to Moving Mountains, Daughter, Deftones, and more, the band is determined to make waves in the music industry on their own terms.
Their story begins with their first single, “James Albert” — named in memory of Mays’ late father. It’s emotional and sincere, and serves as a lead single from their debut EP, If You Leave, which is expected to be released later this year. “James Albert” will be hitting DSP’s tomorrow, but Substream is excited to team up with Young Mountain to exclusively premiere the single a day in advance right here.
“One of the goals I have for this band is to have as many as my friends involved with this band as possible. I’m still not entirely over the death of my father, but I’m so happy that a bunch of my friends could help me use this as an outlet to honor the memory of my dad, I just hope people can hear how much heart we put into this and I hope this makes my dad proud,” Mays shares on the single.
