I spoke with Heather McEntire of Mount Moriah while the band was driving through Wisconsin on their tour with the Indigo Girls. We chatted about the band's new critically acclaimed self-titled album, North Carolina music, and how growing up the the mountains inspired her to write folk music.
Congratulations on the new album. Were you surprised by the positive response?
Well, yeah. You know, you never know how people are going to receive what you create and it’s been really wonderful to see the positive responses and encouraging words. Yeah we’ve felt a lot of support so it feels really great.
I think the song, "Lament", is a great example of the sort of spareness and candid writing found on the rest of the album. How did that song come about for you?
Well thank you. “Lament” was written several years ago actually, and initially it was written a lot slower and a little sadder, you know, when I was going through that break-up. And then, you know, after some time, post-break up, I started feeling more confident and it became a pop song [laughs]. And it became really powerful for me to sing those lyrics, and so it kind of took on a new energy I guess.
I love the music video for the song too. It looks like it was filmed in a single shot.
The video is one continuous take. We shot it in Durham, my home town, and on top of a parking deck. Hueism Pictures - who we’ve worked with for four videos now – we just really trusted them and they wanted to do a continuos take and it sounded pretty fun, a little ambitious, but It worked out. It’s a little rough around the edges but I think it gives it a good look, like a good window into our friends and it’s a little more casual. It’s not a super serious video with all these effects and stuff. It’s a little more natural and celebratory, which is what we wanted for that particular song.
I think I even recognized a few friends from Carrboro in the video.
[Laughs] There are probably a few familiar faces in there. It’s a small town.
You've collaborated with lots of other North Carolina artists. What is it that you like about working with local artists and the scene here?
Well, it’s very comfortable for me to create here. I think that the cost of living and quality of life is a really great balance and so it allows an artistic freedom. I’m surrounded by really talented musicians who were inspired to move here or remain here in some way, or come back here, but there’s always this kind of pulse of creativity that I find really inspiring. I don’t know what it is exactly. To pinpoint why it is such an amazing place – there’s a lot of different reasons, you know? I love North Carolina. I grew up in the western part of the state and so it feels like home. And it’s awesome to feel that community and be a part of that continuous shaping of the music and arts scene. It’s really fulfilling for me.
Who are some of your favorite North Carolina artists right now?
Jenks and I, my bandmate, we run a small record label called Holidays For Quince Records, and so our output is almost exclusively local music, and we’re going to be releasing the new Caltrop record early next year. We’re excited about that. We [Mount Moriah] are working on a new record as well. But in terms of wanting to collaborate on our next Mount Moriah record with some folks, or just being interested in local bands, I really love The Tender Fruit, Christy Smith’s project. I also really love Skylar Gudasz's voice, she has a band called Skylar Gudasz And The Ugly Girls. There’s so many to choose from.
There's a lot of folk influence on the new album, and the style really showcases your voice. Was that an intentional decision to go the folk route?
Sure. I grew up in the mountains and kind of come from a family of bluegrass musicians. I guess for a lack of a better phrase, it’s kind of in my blood to kind of lean towards that country/folk feel. Also, I have spent the last ten years playing post-punk music in a band called Bellafea, which was really kind of anti-structured, so Mount Moriah is a neat challenge for me to write in a more traditional format, and still be unique in that format, so I’m really interested in that challenge.
There's a real power in the simplicity of it.
It’s a different kind of intimacy - a different kind of expression.
The album really harkens back to these legendary badass female singer-songwriters like Carol King on Tapestry or Joni Mitchell. Were those women an influence for you?
Yeah. You mentioned Tapestry. I love Carol King. I had all of her records in a really formative time for me, when I first started playing guitar. I had all the Fleetwood Mac records too. So those are really formative as well. Honestly, the band we’re touring with right now, The Indigo Girls, [listening to them] is kind of how I learned what a harmony was, outside of hymms and things that I would learn in church. I listened mostly to mainstream country for the most part of my life.
I never really noticed the church influence in your music before, but I guess it really makes sense now that I think about it.
It’s something that never really goes away. It’s so formative. Even though I was really shy as a child, I didn’t sing, but I really took it in and listened really carefully.
Mount Moriah is playing at this year's Hopscotch Music Festival. How has the experience of being involved with the festival been for you?
I already knew that we had an amazing music community, but I think what [Hopscotch] does is put our community on the map in a more national, or kind of local sense, and it’s nice to kind of come together and be surrounded by all the local labels and just encourage each other and go to everyone’s shows. It’s fun
It's really an incredible lineup.
You kind of have to commend the people currating it because it’s a pretty big undertaking, you know. And it’s doing a lot for the Triangle. It’s awesome.
You mentioned being a part of the group Bellafea, and the 2007 album, Cavalcade, is one of my favorites. Any plans to return to that project or something similar to it?
We’re working on a new record. It’s plugging along. It’s a little harder to stay focused on it because Mount Moriah is kind of a priority for me right now. But we work on it. I guess we’re about a third or halfway done. And that’s a fun direction to turn to. And it’s a chance to express myself a little differently.
Thanks to Heather for taking the time to talk with me despite the early morning time difference and bad reception in Wisconsin. You can read my full feature on Mount Moriah in the Raleigh Downtowner magazine.
