B-Side Guys

Geographical displacement creates artistic dissonance that often yields remarkable results. Leicester UK’s Mountaintop Junkshop embodies this principle—a band that sounds teleported from California’s lost alt-country landscape into England’s Midlands. Their latest single “I’m Still Looking for the Light” leverages this cultural tension to create something that feels simultaneously displaced and perfectly situated.

Released through Electric Blanket Records as the second glimpse into their album Misadventureland (released March 20th), the track demonstrates why BBC Introducing’s Dean Jackson labeled them “the cream of the crop.” What distinguishes their approach is a masterful understanding of negative space—knowing precisely what to leave unsaid and unplayed.

The instrumentation creates a deliberate scaffold for emotional exploration, with Jon Bennett’s vocals serving as confessional centerpiece. Amy Cooper’s complementary vocal harmonies and keyboard work add textural depth while never overwhelming the composition’s inherent simplicity. Particularly effective is Natasha Pattinson’s violin, which functions not as mere ornamentation but as emotional counterpoint—sometimes reinforcing, sometimes challenging the vocal narrative.

This sensitivity to arrangement extends to the rhythm section, with Dave Fellows’ bass and Katie Shields’ drums providing foundation without constriction. The production captures their “country-tinged minimal torch songs” with appropriate intimacy, creating an environment where one can indeed “hear pins drop and hearts breaking,” as their bio aptly suggests.

What elevates “I’m Still Looking for the Light” beyond similar folk-adjacent offerings is its thematic commitment to persistent hope within acknowledged darkness. The title itself functions as mantra—not a declaration of having found illumination but of continuing to seek it despite persistent shadows. This nuanced perspective creates emotional authenticity that resonates beyond genre boundaries.

Having shared stages with acts ranging from Jolie Holland to Herman Dune and Ronnie Lane’s Slim Chance, Mountaintop Junkshop has clearly absorbed diverse influences while maintaining distinctive identity. The comparisons to Low, Mazzy Star, and Songs Ohia are merited not through imitation but through shared commitment to emotional authenticity over stylistic flourish.

Following January’s “Holy Hell,” this single serves as perfect introduction to a band that understands how the most affecting musical statements often emerge not from what’s added but from what’s deliberately left out—like a “red-wine-stained copy of Frank Stanford poems” that reveals its depths through careful, repeated consideration