Thin Lear
A Beach of Nightly Glory
Metropolitan Groove Merchants
Choosing a favorite track on A Beach of Nightly Glory, Thin Lear’s new EP featuring Matt Longo’s songs and his gorgeous voice, is nearly impossible. Each of these five songs is its own sort of lament, simultaneously ache and consolation.
First single “Overnighter” captures the mood of the album for me. Altogether wistful, one tiny incredible minor chord keeping it only slightly this side of sorrow, Longo sings of pay-phone calls from the road to the only ones who matter. It’s nostalgic of course, and the video that accompanies cements this feeling, but there’s also some hope in there. “There may be days passing by / Far from our grey, cloudy eyes / Under a warm Sunday sky / We can just dream, you and I.”
Second single “Bowie’s Ley Lines” is bouncier pop capturing a long-ago carefree night with a Hunky Dory soundtrack and the feelings left after its remembering. “Ride on the rims and risk your life / Pretend you’re invincible / And you can be home again before you feel alone.” It’s a sweet image of kids doing goofy shit on a night at the beach, a happy motley crew to stave off everything that doesn’t fit, especially solitude, a memory before growing up real quick.
The album was composed around the birth of Longo’s daughter, tranquil songs written with the baby on his chest. The intent was to document the newborn family, both its imperfection and necessity, and who knows what that means but Longo, even as I can’t get enough of his music.
“Impossible Man” is at once an intimate, personal grief for a haunting imperfect humanness and beautiful ode to a love that doesn’t mind. “There’s nothing new under my sun / Morning just breaks me down / Evening shakes me ‘round / Come back to you when I’m all done / Such an impossible man / Only you can stand.” This one’s full of reflection — anxiety, loneliness, darkness, demands… these are what makes a thinking person, yes?
Thin Lear is Matt Longo (vocals, guitar), Alan Parker (guitar), Cameron Ralston (bass), Daniel Clarke (piano, organ, synth), Brian Jones (drums, percussion), Alex De Jong (engineering), and Kyle Williams (engineering). A Beach of Nightly Glory was produced by Matthew E. White at Spacebomb Studio, Richmond, VA, mixed by Adrian Olsen, and mastered by Greg Calbi.
