Mountains & Valleys by Mountains & Valleys

“Three Drinks” will certainly pique the interest of listeners with a soft spot for achey, melancholic tunes. Introduced as gentle and muted, “Three Drinks” is pleasantly surprising. The track creeps into a sentimental cry only to be topped with an emotionally contradicting chorus that echoes, “My silence is torture and bliss.” The seductive and sultry voice of Merritt Harris adds an additional layer of soul, making “Three Drinks” all the more pained and heartfelt. Without a doubt, Harris will leave listeners ruminating on his lyrical pangs of grief."
-The Wild Honey Pie

"Mountains and Valleys, as a whole, is undoubtedly an impressive effort. None of the album’s twelve tracks come off as filler, each track fitting nicely in the record’s dynamic range. The instrumentation is diverse and well-arranged, making the self-titled collection of indie-folk songs a thoroughly enjoyable listen."
-Ronald Walczyk at Buffablog

"Lots of smart and tasteful textures, lyrics, and instrumentation."
-Jocko at MoreSound Studio

"[The melancholy vibe] is part of the reason why I love this album as much as I do! It expresses a truism about the human soul . . . There is a prevalent sense of hopefulness in your lyrics though- and that is what keeps it so creative."
-Alanna Marie Boudreau

This album is a journey of struggle and joy. You'll hear the tension of figuring out what it means to be human.

This album features the lush instrumentation of my previous work with the added dimension of full band/full production. I spent over a year writing, recording, finding collaborators and mixing this album. It will make your ears happy.

Thanks to many generous donors during my fundraising campaign on IndieGoGo, I am able to master and duplicate a limited run of CDs.

Thanks for listening!

Tracklist

1.	stubborn seed	2:05

2.	squint	4:26

3.	bold	3:43

4.	empire	4:16

5.	the worst half	2:56

6.	seed	3:49

7.	three drinks	3:44

8.	grave or kite	3:41

9.	reminder	4:36

10.	winter coat	3:45

11.	salt city	4:33

12.	used to be a sinner	1:34

Credits

released March 21, 2015

All song written/ recorded/ produced in various homes by Merritt Harris with collaboration on:

Bold: recorded and mixed with John Carter at New Vine Media, Ithaca NY.
Empire, The Worst Half, Seed: drums and rhythm electric guitar tracked by Langston Masingale at StudioDog Productions, Syracuse NY.
Lead vocals on Stubborn Seed, Squint, Grave or Kite, Reminder and Winter Coat tracked at StudioDog Productions.
Stubborn Seed, Squint & Reminder: Violins arranged & recorded by Rachel Leigh.
Stubborn Seed, The Worst Half, Three Drinks, Grave or Kite, Winter Coat and Salt City: Horns arranged and recorded by Steven Carbone.
Empire, Seed: Horns arranged by Steven Carbone.

Mastered by Jocko Randall at More Sound Recording Studio, Syracuse NY.

Instruments not included in track credits were written & performed by Merritt Harris.

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