Hunter Morris / Mountain of Youth - Nowhere, NW [CD]

Formed in the wake of a series of bands that explored everything from dark, heavy rock to polished, indie twang, Mountain of Youth—and its remarkable debut, Nowhere, NW—emerges as a sort of equilibrium state for Hunter Morris, balancing his breezy heartland and lo-fi garage influences with his ’70s folk and ’90s grunge sensibilities. The songs are mature and reflective, reckoning with loneliness, regret, and mortality, and the performances are raw and vulnerable to match, with lean, muscular arrangements centered around Morris’s gritty guitars and riveting live vocal takes. 

Born and raised in Georgia, Morris—who also moonlights as a fly-fishing guide and conservationist—got his start with the Athens-based Gift Horse, which Consequence of Sound hailed as “one of the city’s best kept secrets.” His next project, Hunter Morris & Blue Blood, earned similar praise for what PopMatters described as its unique brand of “introspective gloom pop.” Mountain of Youth, however, showcases a new side of Morris, stripping his songs back to their barest, most essential elements. The result is an honest, empathetic examination of purpose and impermanence, a stark meditation on the passage of time and the loss of innocence delivered by a keen observer of the human condition.