PACIFICOs 9th Studio Release, Without Heroes, Addresses Next Generations Lack Of Role Models

Published: May 17, 2013

BATON ROUGE, LA – When Without Heroes was coming together in PACIFICO songwriter Matthew Schwartz’s head a few years ago, he was also coming to terms with where his music comes from.

Unlike so many of today’s musicians, Schwartz isn’t so quick to take all the credit for his songwriting talent (evidenced throughout his 14year career with his revolvinglineup band, PACIFICO). His muses are everyone he’s ever looked up to, and Without Heroes is his homage to them and everything he’s learned from them. According to Schwartz, his music came and continues to come from that place.

Also during the album’s creation, there came a moment when Schwartz looked around and realized that most music doesn’t come from that place anymore. In a famefueled world dictated by market research and American Idol judges, Schwartz found himself wondering what the coming generation will think of passionate musicianship or, if theyll think of it at all.

“Kids don’t have anybody to look up to these days,” Schwartz explained. “The music on the radio and on TV, for the most part, is so uninspired. I want them to know what it feels like to really and truly relate to something on an emotional level. If they don’t ever get the chance to feel that, I don’t know what music will look like I don’t know what the world will look like in the future.”

A lofty goal, perhaps; but whether or not it changes the world, there is no doubt that Pacifico has outdone itself. Three years in the making, Without Heroes comes packed with 13 tracks of ruthlesslycatchy choruses layered atop Schwartz’s exposed lyrical nerve endings, creating an almost yinandyang snapshot of vulnerability as it meets (and compliments) melodic mastery.
But as much as Without Heroes is for a new generation of potential songwriters, it is equally a painfully honest, audible testament to interconnectivity to how much people need each other to get past the potholes in life.

In fact, even the album’s liner notes speak to that end: Schwartz recorded the album with a stunning amount of collaboration across the east coast in studios located in Rochester, NY; Greensboro, NC; Atlanta and Athens, GA; and Baton Rouge, LA where he enlisted the talents of 15 different musicians. Schwartz also breaks new ground for Pacifico with instrumentation on the record, making dynamic use of trumpet, trombone, cello, and string arrangements.


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