It’s very good indeed to see Keith Latinen back at it. You may know him as part of “emo revivalist supergroup” Parting; if you’ve had more than a passing interest in that scene over the past 15 years or so, though, you definitely know him as the founder of Michigan four-piece Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate), who called it quits in 2016 after two albums. At that point, Latinen’s general plan was to hang up his music career entirely (hell, even his label Count Your Lucky Stars was dormant and presumed dead for a while there).
Up next is the debut album from Latinen’s new project, Mt. Oriander. It follows last year’s This Is Not the Way I Wanted You to Find Out EP, and, as before, Latinen plays everything on the record—a solo project in its purest form. He’s also joined by an impressive cast of friends and collaborators, so we wouldn’t be surprised if this new project expanded into a concrete full-band setup the way his previous one did.
The record’s out next week, and we’re delighted to bring you “We Should Get Out of Here Before Something Goes Terribly Wrong!,” a song which directly deals with that sense of burnout Latinen experienced. “After Empire! ended, I needed to not do anything musical for a little bit, but that little bit ended up stretching a lot longer than I ever expected,” he shares. “I had the mindset of, ‘If it comes back, wonderful—but if not, that’s OK too.’ When I actually began to miss music, then I knew it was time to give it another shot. It still feels right.”
Fans of his other work will be delighted to know that the album picks up where You Will Eventually Be Forgotten left off, with musical hallmarks intact yet making sure to offer something new. After all, Latinen came back for a reason.
His debut full length as Mt. Oriander is called Then the Lightness Leaves and I Become Heavy Again, and it lands next Friday. In the meantime, stream the new single below.
