Matthew Moore’s debut album, Even The Dying, is a beautifully crafted, self-produced folk/Americana piece with some rock influences and a focus on introspective storytelling. It was written with concepts such as betrayal, love, death, and redemption in mind, and the narrative weaves these in well track to track. This album is perfect for anyone who grew up listening to artists such as Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan, and it works with dynamic production work and diversity in instrumental sounds to keep things interesting throughout.
From the get-go, the opening track, “Even the Dying,” establishes a cleanly produced folk/Americana sound with a beautiful rhythm built with the bass and percussion. Additionally, the guitars are mixed well, and harmonica portions add a pop with their bright buzz. Lyrically, this track seems to weave a narrative of someone close to death, looking back at life’s struggles and mistakes while feeling imprisoned by the impending end.
“The Castle” picks up the tempo a bit and provides a bit of a Western swing in its instrumentation. This one puts a lot of focus on the vocals and lyrical narrative that’s weaved. The baritone vocals carry a heartfelt sound, and there’s a bit of a spoken word aspect to it. This track explores a relationship that’s ending painfully. It seems to look back on old memories while finding acceptance of the end of the relationship. The lyricism that comes from lines such as, “The castle in the sky / say goodbye to you,” plays into the concept of death as explored in the prior track.
“Falling in Love Tonight” calms the energy down a bit and works with beautiful bends in the guitars to build into another heartfelt track. Additionally, there’s a lot of beauty in the harmonies that dash in for a duet sound. Rather than a bounce, this track has a sway to it. It captures lyricism that paints a story that goes along with the title, someone who’s starting to fall for another.
“Angela” follows up on the heartfelt sound of the last track well, but it bumps up the tempo and highlights some bendy strings. This track has a distinct mix with its strings that brings a lot of vibrance, and the vocal harmonies are absolutely beautiful. This track expresses what it’s like to be loved by another who has the ability to pull one into a better spot by showing love. This one’s chorus hits in with a catchy melody! Also, there’s a guitar solo that has a great slap to it.
After this, “Old Man Lookin’ back. goes back to an exploration of the end of a life, and it does so with a beginning that works with a more simple instrumentation with just guitars. Eventually, some more harmonica cuts in, and the rest of the instrumentation builds throughout this portion. Though the vocals are well defined, the instrumentation takes the stage as its sound fills up.
Then, things move on to “I’ll Be Home,” which takes on a brighter guitar tone and introduces some bendy vocals. There’s something about the vocal production in this track that takes on a more raw and soft sound. In terms of the lyrics, it gets into what it’s like being on the road to perform music with loved ones at home. It expresses being the same person before heading out despite change and growth, and it asks for open and welcoming arms.
Moving forward, “This Is Done” has a quick tempo that is built around a quick and clacky percussion. “I don’t know if you can take me with you / I don’t know if I should go / you don’t show that I’m the one you miss / so I will go ’cause this is done,” the chorus resounds. The lyrics that build around this chorus seem to get into a tale of feeling unloved and needing to close off a relationship.
“Coming Back To You” gives a lot more focus on the banjo, as a quick riff takes the spotlight in the instrumentation. The vocals once again hit a raw production, and like in some past tracks, there’s a feminine harmony that builds into feelings of love that are expressed in the instrumentation. The lyrics in this track do great at painting images of places the narrator has been in their travels as they’ve been, “A long way from home.” It paints a clear picture of said travels but also expresses a tale of coming back home to a lover.
Matthew Moore is an artist and producer who is based in both Los Angeles and Austin, Texas after growing up in New Zealand. He drew inspiration growing up from folk, rock n’ roll, and Americana, and the influence from these genres plays into both his musicianship and lyricism. He started as a drummer in Auckland at the age of 14, and pretty soon, he delved into songwriting and eventually learned guitar and harmonica. This is what led him to the U.S., where he took time to add mixing and engineering to his repertoire. Now, he uses these skills to craft his music exactly as he wants it.
Written by Sage Plapp
Where to find Matthew Moore:
