By: Bridjet Mendyuk
Men and Mountains hail from Alabama, but their music holds a wide range of instrumentation and melody that expands beyond southern redemption in rock n’ roll. Pulling influence from Pedro the Lion, Copeland, mewithoutYou and Thrice, the band have released their record A Little Less Lost; a three year long journey. The album reflects on love and love lost with booming instrumentation on all tracks. A true ode to creating an experience while listening to A Little Less Lost, the band chatted with Highlight to give a bit more insight on the album.
Tell me a little about how A Little Less Lost came to fruition.
Ryan: The process of making this record was very long. It took us almost three years. A lot of factors contribute to that, but mostly we wanted to be entirely happy with it. Our friend Lucas Smith (Lucky Sound Studio) was gracious enough to let us come in when we wanted and were able. Speaking for myself, it’s an intoxicating experience to have free reins in a studio. I most certainly wasted some time. Most of these songs we have been playing for a while now. “Tired Teeth”, for instance, is almost eight years old. I think that speaks to the variety on the album; there are years between some of the songs.
The tracks are big and somber at the same time with a lot of instrumentation. I especially like “Non Est ad Astra Mollis e Terris Via”, could you tell me a little more about the song?
Ryan: Thank you! It is actually funny, that song was a very last minute addition to the album. I threw it out as a possible B-side originally. We ultimately decided that it fit the theme and sound of the record better than another song. I had a rough skeleton of the song for a couple years with a few lyrics and I took a line Chris had written and finished it out for the chorus. Chris added some more lyrics he had written for the second verse. The song is about losing people close to you and a slightly positive look at death in general. You live as long as the people who remember you. I loved the way it turned out. I think that it’s a very good showcase of a lot of things that we do well.
How has the Alabama scene influenced you or motivated you?
Chris: The scene here has been a special part of my life for nearly 17 years. I’ve seen it grow and die down to nearly nothing, but right now I think it’s better than ever. There are some incredible bands coming out of here. Headwires, X.Y. Spaces, Heel Turn, and West Means Home to name just a few. I think knowing we all play a crucial role in keeping this scene alive is motivating enough.
What is your favorite song on the album and why?
Ryan: “Everyone Leaves a Little Less Lost” is by far my favorite. It was pretty much written the week we started tracking drums. The guitar stuff at the beginning is actually directly from the original demo I recorded on my phone. I think it turned out better than I could’ve ever expected. It moves and builds really well and closes the record perfectly. It also sounds absolutely massive.
Chris: It’s “Nicholas” for me. That song took a lot out of me to finish. It was written in remembrance of one of my best friends growing up and also the first friend I ever lost to death. It tears me up inside to hear it, but I’m so glad that his song finally exists.
“One For The Angels” is the first track off the record and it’s pretty heavy lyrically speaking. Could you talk about that a little more and why you wanted to have it at the top of the record?
Chris: Oh, man. Well, I guess lyrically it’s pretty straightforward. Just part of one of the shittiest times I’ve ever experienced. I wrote it in the form of a reply, though. If the person it was about had cared enough to ask “Why I Lie Awake” at the time, this song would be my response. They can just listen, now. Aside from that, it’s placement on the record just felt necessary, musically. It’s important to us how our records flow. I love how the record begins and ends on two totally different spectrums. “One for the Angels” is sort of calm before the storm, I guess. Another little thing is that I named it after one of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes and reference it in the lyrics as well.
With “Why I Lie Awake” as a single, I feel as though this theme of love lost ties the record together. It sets the precedent of something beautiful out of gloom (at least that is my interpretation)…was the making of this record cathartic?
Chris: Absolutely. This record was an emotional workout for sure. Writing and playing these songs or even being able to talk about them is like putting those moments in the past. We’re all in better places despite the truths we admit in our music.
Lastly, if you’re going on tour, what are you most excited about?
Chris: Probably any possibility that our next outing will be better than our previous ones. We’ve had some rough times on the road in the past. Cancelled dates due to venues being literally underwater and such. Hopefully, when we leave out again it’ll work out more in our favor. I just want to play our music to as many people as possible, meet up with old friends and make a lot of new ones.
