Naarm/Melbourne-based songwriter AL MATCOTT shares the lastest single ‘O My Darling’, out today on Cheersquad Records & Tapes

About ‘O My Darling’, Al says
“I’d been playing this song live at solo shows for a bit, but I hadn’t originally intended it to be on this album. I thought it was too country whereas the rest of the album was very Rock. But people liked this song and Brendan said a) if you have a good song now – use it. Don’t wait around for years for the song to become more convenient. And b) it will sound like it fits in with the rest of the songs because it’s us playing it, same time, same studio, etc.
He was right.
This was another lockdown song. I was so devoid of human connection I wrote a song about meeting someone “at the club” and taking them home. Which I later realised I’ve never even done. I liked the idea of writing a song about like, picking up at the club which sounded nothing like a song about picking up at the club.
This was a song which wasn’t pre-rehearsed before we went into the studio. It was just Brendan (West – bass), Miranda (Holt – drums) and I. Brendan’s bass parts were amazing, I think we only did like two takes and this was the second one. And Miz’s beats reminded me of Steven Drozd from The Flaming Lips, which I loved.
Brendan laid down a bunch of additional backing vocals, and Wade got Jack Ladder in to do some keys because they live near each other.
For the guitar solo I knew I wanted slide guitar. I emailed Taylor Hollingsworth. He’s this guitarist from Alabama who I came across because he was in Conor Oberst’s Mystic Valley Band.
I saw them at The Metro in maybe 2009. They covered Kodachrome by Paul Simon and I was both on ecstasy and in a band which also played that song so I was in love. Taylor has a super distinctive voice and style of guitar playing. I fucking love it. I highly recommend his album Life With A Slow Ear.
So anyway he emailed back, did the solo. It was perfectly off-kilter. Like just weird enough that the song doesn’t just sound like a straight up alt-country by the numbers thing.
It’s got its own flavour, with the solo the perfect cherry on top.
Thanks Taylor.

Al Matcott’s forthcoming debut album Summer’s Coming was written over two years and recorded under the watchful eye of producer Wade Keighran (The Scare, Wolf & Cub, Elvis – music supervisor) between Head Gap Studios in Naarm/Melbourne, Golden Retriever Studios in Eora/Sydney and The Tender Joint in Colomatta/the Blue Mountains. It was a period of many firsts for Al Matcott: his first time working with a producer; his first time recording in an established studio; and his first time collaborating with his live band – Brendan West (he/him; bass), Miranda Holt (she/her; drums) and Steve McLennan (he/him; guitar). The album features Full Flower Moon Band’s Kate ‘Babyshakes’ Dillon (‘Summer’s Coming’,) Freya Josephine Hollick (‘Our Mother The Mountain’) and instrumental collaborations with Jack Ladder (keys) and Taylor Hollingsworth from Conor Oberst’s Mystic Valley Band (slide guitar) who both feature on ‘O My Darling’.

Finding inspiration in classical literature, philosophy, poetry, and bands like Interpol and A Place To Bury Strangers, Al Matcott adopts a series of characters throughout Summer’s Coming to tell stories punctuated with his masterful songwriting craft: caterwauling guitars, a blistering rhythm section and a dark, despairing mood. His engrossing lyricism focuses on the encroaching climate crisis – “It’s what keeps me up at night. What is happening to mother earth should be viewed as an act of violence.” he firmly states – and delves into daily tensions that many of us face: the unrelentingly addictive design of social media, being held hostage by your own mind and turning to meditation, and continually pulling that same irritating-as-all-hell tarot card that holds a mirror to the ugliest parts of yourself. It’s a journey of a record, one that sees Al Matcott’s celebrated songwriting reach scorching new heights.

Formerly a drummer, guitarist and singer in a number of bands including Euphoriacs, Honey Badgers and Buried Feather, AL MATCOTT made his solo debut in 2021 with the release of the four-track EP You Can Be Anyone and quickly followed with a string of singles in 2022 including ‘Crystal Ball’ and ‘Sophia’. His releases saw swift support from CLASH, The Indie Scene, Radio X (UK), Triple R, Double J, Pilerats and many others, all praising his strong storytelling and delicate balance of the dark and the light across expertly written songs. The first single and title track from Summer’s Coming has been named Best New Music on The Guardian, Pilerats, Music Feeds and The Music, added to Double J and included in PBS FM’s Feature Sounds. Al Matcott is a staple of Naarm/Melbourne’s live music scene, having played over 30 shows in the last 12 months including Boogie and Leaps and Bounds Festivals, and shows with Flyying Colours, Bad Habits and more.

PRAISE FOR AL MATCOTT
“Al Matcott, with guest vocalist Kate Dillon, sings with steady despair and fury… Scuzzy garage guitars expand into wailing soundscapes” – The Guardian (Best New Music for September)

“There’s a soft, sunset element to his sound, a quiet sense of reflection that is tied to his endearing lyricism.” – CLASH

“Al Matcott was brilliant.” – The Age

“a hazy blend of alt-rock and country that relishes with its personality, taking these charming and quite bright-eyed guitar melodies and twisting them with darker, potent lyrics” – Pilerats

“stirring… honest” – Tone Deaf

“quick to wash us over with its spirited mixture of sunshine pop with a familiar alt-country sway… amongst the warm backdrop, his playful intonation gives the impression that although he’s not afraid to be scathing, it doesn’t all have to be negative.” – Trouble Juice

“incisive balancing of lilting melodies and rattling noise; light and dark tones, swerving from the anthemic nature of Pixies and deftly into the indie-folk of The Middle East.” – Little Dose of Indie

“the immediate energy of Matcott’s performance is present in every moment” – Real Tasty Music

“draws on Matcott’s hazy alt-indie sensibilities and distils them into something that is at once candid and expansive.” – Purculture