Check out the new single from Vancouver band The Matinee. ‘Cut to Pieces’ features a propulsive bass that drives the song’s rolling rhythms and makes you want to get moving. Over the top, Matt Layzell delivers a truly catchy vocal with a memorable melody and powerful chorus. That infectious tune means the edge to the lyrics sneaks up on you: “I’ll give you one last chance before I cut you to pieces.” Halfway through, an atmospheric interlude is the introduction for a captivating guitar solo. Layzell explains the song’s themes: “‘Cut To Pieces’ is a song for the underdogs. We’ve always felt like one to be honest…trying to find our way and be heard and convincing people to take a chance on us. When I was a kid, I was an extra on the TV show Breaker High, and I remember how cool Ryan Gosling seemed to be and how I felt I was just back there in the shadows, unnoticed. The acting world is very competitive and that’s probably why I didn’t stick with it. But it did make me focus on music and push me to find my voice. You have to push yourself to get things done sometimes, to make those breakthroughs, whether anyone is paying attention or not. The cool thing though is that people often like to cheer for the underdog. This is a song for them. I’m not jealous of Gos’ anymore, but Ryan we are still cheering for you.”
The accompanying video has an energy of its own. Layzell explains the thinking behind the visual: “We wanted to make a video that was fun and artsy, that didn’t rely on a bunch of locations. I remembered the Queens Of The Stone Age video for ‘No One Knows’ and that sparked the idea of driving around. We found this sweet old truck and a green screen and shot it all ourselves in a couple hours and left the rest to our pal Steve Bays to work his magic. We gave him all the footage, and then he spent the next few weeks making it look like we took that truck everywhere! It’s all smoke & mirrors…a green screen…and a few headaches in the edit suite I’m sure…but Steve delivered a video that takes that initial Queens idea and mashes it with The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine and The 1975 Birthday Party, and somehow it just works!”
Video-creator Steve Bays adds: “Given that many bands are geographically diverse, and/or are able to shoot pretty decent footage on their phones and pocket cams, I’ve been having a blast lately just collecting folders of whatever visual/lyrical/thematic assets they are able to give me, and then I add my play with those ideas and files in whatever way I can think to try. That can mean running it through an old tv, a bunch of different AI / laptop / phone apps, denoising and then digitally upscaling it to higher resolution, or intentionally making it more lo-fi to hide their digital artifacts, and then I layer them all together, chop them up and add organic textures like lens flare, weather events, camera movements, window reflections, film burns, grain, etc. and ultimately colour it as a final music video, no different then if I had shot it all on a ‘pro’ camera. Ultimately though, I’m just trying to reflect the emotion of the song’s arc; that’s what’s most important.”
The single is from the band’s fourth studio album, ‘Change of Scene’, which is out now. After 15 years of relentless touring, the band needed a break from the driving and sleepless nights, so the four founding members took a road trip. Layzell says: “We don’t like to sit still for too long. You kind of get used to life in motion, and I think I depend on it for the stories that we write about.” The band found themselves out in the wilderness searching for inspiration. Armed with a notebook and surrounded by the wonders of nature, The Matinee began to put the new album together.
On release day, the band said: “Today is a new day. The start of something. The continuation of others. The day our new record is out into the wild! Ten years ago, we called our first album, ‘We Swore We’d See The Sunrise’, as a way to say that we will stick it out together and keep going, no matter how tough it gets. We are proud to still be here making new music and doing it the old-fashioned way, and we really want you to enjoy this album and share it with your friends. It’s called ‘Change of Scene’… because sometimes it’s just how you look at things. Take a different route home, and maybe you’ll notice something for the first time that’s always been there. That something might be just enough to make your day. Life is all about optics, and on the surface, it might seem like we are some big success story, but the truth is we can’t do it alone and have never needed your support more.” Produced by Steve Dawson (Birds of Chicago), the album is vibrant and warm, full of engaging melody and classic country-rock songwriting. ‘Cut to Pieces’ is a fine opening single, giving a real flavour of The Matinee – enjoy.
