Written by Caulder Toland
Mt. Comfort is a new and refreshing addition to the Fayetteville Scene, bringing an all woman queer band into the spotlight and with them a refreshing new story-telling aspect for their first solo show. The Medium hosted their album release show, setting them in an intimate space that allowed the audience to be just as vulnerable as the band.
Although they had played for multiple audiences before, this was the first time their writer and founder (Sami Miller) had brought out their inspiration: a short story titled “The Last Words of Valencia Bray,” woven in between in each song and contextualizing the previous song. The story of Valencia Bray is one of tragedy, telling the story of a broken young woman trying to find her way in the world after dealing with a less than ideal upbringing and being met with even more of the same at every turn. Every way out ended up just being a way down, leading her all the way back to the start of her journey. It felt as if each song was handcrafted to fit the thematic journey you were taken on, clearly signifying the strong creative direction and clear vision that Sami had realized for the band.
Standing in the audience and listening to Mt. Comfort play made me realize that there was so much that they were doing right, and so little that they were doing wrong. Any errors, if there were any, were surely due to lack of experience and nerves for their first big performance. Although these were present, it was almost endearing to see that these incredible musicians were just like us, not quite sure where to place their foot and shaking just a little bit beneath the baggy pants that we were all wearing. But I could not stop to take a moment to revel in that interesting melody I had just heard, because moments later I had to ponder on a profound lyric that had just been sung to all of us. I was blown away by the delicacy of Sami’s writing and the poetic nature of each song, leaving me with a deep feeling of “that meant something, and it had a purpose not only to me but to the band.” No stone was left unturned in my heart, churning with every gut-wrenching turn of the tale of Valencia Bray. By the end of their hour-long tour of this far-off place, I was left with a feeling of awe as the final song came to a close, entailing the final moments of her life, and leaving us with a fading heartbeat on the violin. All I could muster in my mind was a simple, “woah.”
The strength of Mt. Comfort comes from their variety, with the inclusion of a violin in their instrumentation and almost every player on the stage singing at some point in the show, it really feels like they can do anything they want. Powering their performance with various effects through the show, whether it be the car alarm of a forlorn vehicle in a ditch or the last breath of a painful existence, it all came together to change me and hopefully everyone else in that room for the better. I had spoken to a few other people in the crowd and the consensus was that yes, that was an excellent concert and we all want more of whatever Mt. Comfort has to offer as soon as we can get it.
Photo Credits and permission from: Avery Isaacson