Belgium born punk quartet Mountains To Move are set to release their upcoming single Left Or Right on 20th April. They have been a band for just over four years and what started as just a fun drunken evening project amongst friends, quickly turned out to be something much more and very special. Having supported bands like Lower Than Atlantis, Young Guns and Deaf Havana in Belgium, the band are now keen to widen their fanbase to the UK. For fans of Citizen, Turnover and Brand New, Mountains To Move are arguably your girlfriend’s new favourite boyband.
New single Left Or Right. is a song written about the ‘what ifs’ and the ‘could have beens’ in life. The new material has a more inviting sound then anything the band have made in the past and working together with a producer this time round helped the quintet create a more well balanced and structured sound. Left Or Right. is the first of two singles mastered by Sage Audio (Moose Blood etc.) and is a blend of emotionally filled verses and heavy choruses to which you can bang your head too. The heartfelt lyrics illustrate the personal struggles and anxieties of an individual lost in a world that spins too fast under his feet. Making the track captivating, yet haunting you to the deepest core of your heart. For now check out their latest single Drown!
We managed to catch up with the band as they talk about their upcoming single and more!
How pumped are you for your upcoming single release Left or Right?
We’re extremely excited to release this new song! We’ve been sitting on it for quite some time now and are happy to finally share it with the world! We worked pretty hard on getting everything in order song- and structure-wise, but are proud to finally present Left or Right.
Can you tell us something about the track no one else knows?
Well, I don’t really like to dive deeper into the meaning of the songs I wrote, because I love it when people give their own meaning to them or find themselves in them in ways I didn’t. But I can tell you a fun fact about the production process of the song. Initially we recorded these three cheesy handclaps that were meant to be used in the intro of the song where you now hear those muted guitar strums. Last minute we changed it though and are pretty happy now we did, because it really did sound way too cheesy!
Will you be releasing an EP/ Album this year?
We have already planned to release a second single later this year, for which we’ve also recorded a music video in which you basically see us road tripping to Switzerland to play a one-off show with Daisyhead and Sibling. We’ve been releasing singles for quite a while now, because this formula has worked well for us, but we’d love to combine all these past singles with perhaps some newer songs on a physical album later this year. However, we still need to find the right partner(s) to do this with!
If you could work with any band or artist on a new song, who would it be and why?
Working with Dan Campbell from The Wonder Years would be cool, since he did a solid job on Trash Boat’s latest full length, but also recording at Jay Maas’ (ex-Defeater) studio would be sick.
So you have show in Antwerp coming up and one in the Netherlands, are you looking forward to playing these?
We’ve got some pretty cool shows in the near future. Antwerp’s show is at one of the coolest venues of that city and one we’ve never played before, so we’re pretty excited about that. In May we’re also playing support for Movements, one of my current favourite bands, in Antwerp. And yes, playing in The Netherlands is always a blast; they’re so friendly over there and treat us so well. We also play a German festival in May, which is so much fun as well.
What’s the alternative music scene like in Belgium?
I mean, it’s okay. I don’t want to sound to bitter and say that it used to be better when I was still 18 years old (it is the truth though), but I still love going to punk, emo, hardcore shows and Belgium has some good and friendly bookers, such as Flood Floor Shows, MCLX, Midwestern Anxiety and Mendville Shows.
Then there’s also Groezrock, which is probably one of the coolest alternative music festivals that I know. I’ve been going to Groezrock since I was 16. Playing that festival is probably one of our biggest dreams as a band.
Will you ever consider touring the UK?
We would LOVE to tour the UK. Over the years we’ve made some friends across the pond, so booking shows over there could work, but the logistical aspect of it would be difficult, but who knows man!
What do you get up to in your spare time when not working on music?
Probably hanging out at a bar, go clubbing or simply staying in and play some video games.
What inspired you to get into music in the first place?
We just wanted to do the same thing as bands that we loved at that time were doing: be inspiring with your own creativity and meeting new people, but also seeing places you’ve never seen because of those shitty emo pop songs you wrote with your best friends.