Matt York - Bruisable Heart (2019)

This is my new album and it’s called Bruisable Heart. I have absolutely no idea what kind of music it is. I perform the vast majority of gigs as a solo acoustic act. There are a few tracks on here that are very stripped down and there are others that are essentially rock n roll songs. My heroes are not just the Springsteens and Dylans of the songwriting world, but also Townes, Willie, Steve Earle and Billy Joe Shaver. People that have seen me perform live, would likely tell you that I sound more country and more twangy in that environment than on this album. I’d agree with that. Ultimately though, these are sad songs with a lot of minor chords, seventh chords and dissonance.

I’ve received some good press for my previous albums and I’m very grateful for that. This album, is the one I’ve been trying to make all along though. It was recorded in a basement studio in Jamaica Plain. It was produced and engineered by the excellent Thomas Wenzl. It was the most hands on I’ve been recording and making a record.

Townes Van Zandt was once asked why all his songs were so sad and he replied “they aren’t all sad, some of them are about hopelessness”. There’s a lot of that here but there are also glimmers of hope and love mixed in.

I hope you’ll take a listen.