Title - 'Wooden Cave'
Artist - Thin Lear
For those not in the know, Queens-based songwriter Matt Longo (aka Thin Lear) has always been drawn to the stories of forgotten eccentrics, but never haunted by their subjects.
And yet, upon the reading of 1920's occultist Netta Fornario, and her misunderstood demise on a tiny island off of Scotland, he unearthed the inspiration for a surreal and ethereal collection of songs, the upcoming new album Wooden Cave (July 24th, 2020, via Egghunt Records).
Pulling influence from the insular world of Astral Weeks, the melodic adventurousness of Harry Nilsson, and the eclecticism of Shuggie Otis, Thin Lear creates songs existing on a sonic and lyrical island of their own.
Indeed, Wooden Cave, written for outsiders like Netta, radiates with a sonic glow that harkens back to '70's-era studio obsessives, familiar and surprising in equal measure, like a face from a dream.
1. 'Netta'
2. 'Wooden Cave'
3. 'A Simple Phrase'
4. 'The Guesthouse'
5. 'Death in a Field'
6. 'I Thought I Was Alone'
7. 'Maniacs'
8. 'Different Tune'
9. 'Behold You Now'
10. '93 Heap'
11. 'Your Family'
This quite magnificent, effervescent album of earnest, genuine musical melodies and orchestrated quality, opens with the yearning embrace of 'Netta,' which is backed by the soulful grappling of the title track, before bringing us both the nakedly raw ambition of 'A Simple Phrase' and the drum led, foot-tappin' rhythms of 'The Guesthouse.'
Next up is the melodic, Americana ambiance of 'Death in a Field' which is backed seamlessly by the earnest 'I Thought I Was Alone' and then comes my own personal favorite on this album, the upbeat, summer's day, '70s carriage train ride of 'Maniacs.'
The album then rounds out with the beautifully soulful ebb and flow of 'Different Tune,' another gentle foot-tapper in the form of 'Behold You Now,' the at-times gravely sober, yet rising throughout '93 Heap,' before the hungering ballad 'Your Family' brings this quite wondrous album of, at times ornate, at others psychedelically-tinged melodic folk to a close.
Official Pre-Order Purchase Links
Thin Lear @ Facebook
Thin Lear @ Instagram
Thin Lear @ Vimeo
www.Egghunt-Records.com