Written by Sandeep Sehbi

Matt Pless’s ‘Lavender’ came out this June. Matt’s been through the town a bunch in the past year or two. I’ve caught most of his shows in the area. I recognize a bunch of songs from his live shows on this record.

Matt’s a good dude. He’s got this history as a musician thats pretty fascinating. He used to be in a pop punk band way back in the day. That band broke up, and he ended up going solo. Since then he’s crisscrossed the country a number of times and he pops up on most everybody’s radar as one of the most well traveled DIY folk artists around today.

Matt’s got a great ability to work a crowd, to entertain a room, to tell a story. You can hear those stories in his lyrics, the quality and styling of which often gets compared to Bob Dylan. Matt’s songs are those of quiet rebellion, of acerbic wit and honest observation. The world is a complicated place, and thats reflected in Matt’s music.

Listening to this album, you can really get a sense of the quality of the recordings. Nothing about this DIY album is lo-fi. Well recorded, fully instrumented band arrangements, this is a strong offering by Matt Pless. There is a psychedelic blues strain that underlies many of the offerings on this album. It’s more of a rock and roll album interpretation on a folk artist’s well written balladeer tales.

Matt’s always a lot of fun to see live, and its really just a matter of time before we see him again in town (I hope!). When he does return, I urge you to go check him out and see what he’s all about. There aren’t that many people that get around quite as often as Matt Pless, and there’s a lot to be said for his tenacity on the road and power in his writing.

Its also worth noting he’s been putting an emphasis on his video releases this year and they’re pretty rad, including a collaboration with Shibby Pictures, the videographer that shot amongst other things the Days N Daze video for Misanthropic Drunken Loner. The final song ‘Call it Art’ kind of sums up the album as well as serves as a pretty rad artist statement. There’s a biting wit, an acerbic take, a brutal honesty and wistful humor to it all. And that’s Matt Pless.

Relevant Links:
https://mattpless.bandcamp.com/album/lavender
https://www.facebook.com/Matt-Pless-9352246795/