Raised in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, Matt Wilson became a fan of rockers like Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen and Devo. He and his high school friends formed a group called The Panic and spent much of their youth as under-aged performers in Minneapolis nightclubs, warming up for future luminaries such as Husker Du and The Replacements. In the early 80s, Matt followed his brother Dan to college in Boston where they formed a number of bands, including the Love Monsters, marking Matt’s first turn as a lead singer. Returning to Minneapolis, the brothers joined forces with bass player John Munson to form Trip Shakespeare, writing, recording and touring together for a decade. John and Matt still perform in a rock band together, The Twilight Hours.
When I Was a Writer is the full-length debut from Matt Wilson’s latest project “Matt Wilson & his Orchestra.” The album was recorded at Wilson’s home studio, produced by him and mixed by John Fields (Soul Asylum, Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, Switchfoot, Rooney, etc.) at Creation Audio. When I Was a Writer is being released by Chicago’s Pravda Records March 20.
Today Glide is excited to offer an exclusive premiere of the album, which is the kind of orchestral feel-good power pop we all need. Loaded with shimmering harmonies, delicate musical compositions, and thoughtful lyrics, the album is an impressive entry into Wilson’s already solid output of music. The arrangements are built upon the orchestra’s organic but percussive instrumentation, with acoustic guitar, piano, harp, banjo and electric bass guitar all working in unison to produce a feather bed of circular rhythms, cascading arpeggios and reverberant sonic swells.
Wilson explains the genesis of the new album: “I wrote the song ‘I Can’t Return’ in the Summer of 2015 and that was my return to songwriting after a few years away. After that there was just an outpouring of music and words that lasted for about three years. During that time I was definitely excited to feel this inspiration, but I also felt desperate. In a way the whole record is a reaction to death. I had this strong sense that I was running out of time. I was sincerely worried that I might lose my mind before I was able to show the world the way I wanted my music to sound.”
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Photo credit: Paul Irmiter
