Northern California’s Alec Lytle & Them Rounders premiere a new music video for single, “The Mountain.” The intimate video central to his new album, The Remains of Sunday, out April 17.
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This album is highly personal to Lytle after the loss of his mother and older sister. Of the many concepts tied to the record, “The Mountain” is an ode to his beloved redwood forest home.
“When I was first writing this song, I was playing with the little upbeat guitar riff, and the ‘ooohs’ that make up the refrain, it had the feel of the hills and mountains that we live in,” Lytle shared. “A little backwoods porch feel that sounded fun and a bit melancholy at the same time. I’m always trying to write songs that feel true to where I am from, and create some imagery that might help people connect to this place.”
Lytle compares the isolation created from a life in the mountains, to the emotional isolation he and his wife felt through the stresses brought on by new parenthood. “This story in ‘The Mountain’ was my imagination getting away from me. It explores where our lives began in this cold and windy place with so much hope, but with challenges,” Lytle shared.
The new father circled back to this theme in his recording process. As the band started playing “The Mountain,” it seemed only natural to replace a traditional drum kit with hambone style stomps and slaps. When it came time to record, the incorporation of his kids rounded out the theme.
“It only made sense to make it a family affair,” explained Lytle. “We recorded the stomps and claps in my house on the wood floor, milled from our local fir trees, with my kids doing a lot of the stomping. It was pretty amazing to have them be part of this record, and even more so considering that the lyric talks about our’ little boy and little girl.’”
The band filmed the video at their local bar, coincidentally called “The Mountain House.” As soon as Lytle walks through the door, the place feels immediately like home. The amber lighting of the video creates a warm glow. “It’s our local hang-out where we meet our neighbors up here in the redwood forest…the band and I play impromptu acoustic sets here all the time,” share Lytle.
The familiarity may not be as coincidental. Filmed on the same set as Neil Young’s, “Harvest Moon” video in 1992, the band pays subtle homage to regional influence.
“The same folks own the bar that did when Neil filmed here, and the entire audience is ‘the locals.’ I love that we can extend the traditions of our community in small ways like this.”
Watch the video for “The Mountain” below. Look out for The Remains of Sunday from Alec Lytle & Them Rounders on April 17.
