Father Mountain’s New Video Takes You To A Good Old-Fashioned House Party

Nashville bandmates Zane Martin, Travis Cox, Jesse French, and Austin Hohiemer (also known and loved as Father Mountain) are a rare gem. Self-described as “indie/alternative/punk/whatever,” they represent a refreshing change to the auto-tuned, pretty boy punk rockers that have taken over our radios and streaming platforms.

Father Mountain's debut album, Apartment Living, is on the way soon (November 10, to be exact) and was produced and engineered by Matt McClellan at Glow in the Dark Studios in Atlanta; it was mastered by living legend Jesse Cannon, the Brooklyn, New York-based producer, author, and mastering engineer of choice for some other bands you may have heard of: The Cure, Animal Collective, and The Misfits. “Friends” is the electrifying first single off of that album, an intense ballad that offers up some sage advice: “Do what you want, not what you’re told.”

Today, the video for “Friends” has arrived, just in time to give you a break from the misery everywhere else in the world, and it's premiering exclusively here at NYLON. 

The scene: a house party where each member of the band seems to maintain their individuality—something that hasn't always been in easy in boy band history. Their looks in the visual are spectacularly low-key. No over-the-top excess or flashy Gucci ensembles in sight. (No shade to those with a taste for that, though!) It’s just a couple of dudes rocking the fuck out inside a garage at a house party, which makes for a pretty accurate (and relatable) representation of American college life, complete with colorful string lights and red solo cups. It’s a party we’ve all been to at some point in our lives, where everything and anything goes. 

“This is a song we love that really challenged us in the writing process,” Hohiemer tells us over email. “We have sometimes had a tendency to write flowery, lengthy songs with a lot of movement, [but] made a concerted effort to keep this one short and punchy." 

Short and punchy is a more than an appropriate way to describe Martin's high-voltage octaves paired perfectly with the brilliantly mad instrumentations of his bandmates. You may not know much about the band yet, but know that you can expect simple, good, head-banging music, devoid of smoke and mirrors. And that is something to appreciate. 

Watch “Friends,” below.