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Photo: Steven Diaz

Mountain Lions Embraces Explorative Folk with “In the Valley” (premiere)

Steven Diaz takes a folksier turn with his solo project, Mountain Lions, with an eerie naturalism pervading much of his new music video.

While he might best be known for his contributions to the Lighthouse and the Whaler, Steven Diaz is also looking to express himself under a new musical light with his solo project, Mountain Lions. Trading in the crunching guitar riffs and heavy hooks of the former, Diaz embraces conscious and layered indie folk with the latter. There are still underlying pop sensibilities to be found, although it’s a testament to Diaz’s songwriting muscle that he can incorporate them in a way that still paves the way for Mountain Lions’ organic, emotion-driven storytelling.

From his new album, We Are, Mountain Lions’ newest music video takes us on a trip “In the Valley”. Diaz’s renewed focus on a folk style of storytelling is evident straight away, featuring lyricism rooted in history and nature. An abandoned farmhouse, a dinner table, a willow tree, and more paint the evocative scene of the passage of time and how, at times, it seems to stand still. Diaz takes us on a similar story in the music video itself, made most captivating by its eerier undertones. It was produced, edited, and directed by Steven and Joey Diaz, with color grading from Airloom: Art/Craft.

Airloom: Art/Craft also handled the release of Mountain Lions’ We Are, which is out now.

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