“This is music for late night drives,” says Matt Butcher. “It
sounds best at two in the morning on a winding country road.” Me and
My Friends, the debut record from the 25 year old singer-songwriter,
is a beautifully stark affair. Backed by piano, pedal steel, and
horns, Butcher weaves tails of desperation and loneliness, grace and
redemption. The material spans the course of his adult life. The title
track was written at the tender age of eighteen, while the
gospel-infused song, “Grace on a Greyhound Bus,” was completed during
the recording process. “It’s like looking in the rearview mirror,” he
says of the record. “Six years of scenic drives, dead ends, joy rides,
and near-fatal accidents. I have always written very honestly from my
life. There’s a story in there. But it’s not intentional.” Featuring
his excellent live band The Revolvers, the album runs the gamut from
country tinged americana and bluesy rockers, to soulful ballads and
delicate folk. The music brings to mind artists of the late sixties
and early seventies. “I wear my influences on my sleeve. Proudly. I’m not
trying to re-invent the wheel. Just keep it spinning.” The influences
are there, but the voice is entirely his own. Butcher writes with a
wisdom and maturity that belie his twenty-five years. On the standout
duet “Giving My Sadness a Name,” he tells an ex-lover, “I came into
this world crying, and not much has changed. You’re just giving my
sadness a name.” Throughout the record, Butcher infuses new insight
into age old themes. On “Grey Skies, Green Shoes,” he sings of a
widowed man, “Sitting by himself on a sofa that’s intended for two.”
Saying, “A love seat aint no good when one person leaves.” The album
was co-produced with Justin Beckler, and recorded in various home
studios and a church. These rooms become as much a part of the songs
as the instrumentation. It gives the music both an ethereal and
intimate quality. “We want it to wash over the listener,” he says. “
It has to be subtle.” As for the title, Butcher says it was a natural
fit. “It’s what the songs are about, who they were played by, and who
they are intended for. And yes, I know its grammatically incorrect.”
November Update from Jill Andrews on Vimeo.Matt Butcher And The Revolvers - LIVE at John Kelly Studios Zach Beckler on Vimeo.
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