- A long-lost record that dabbles in wonky country and other acoustic experiments.
- For more than 20 years, Matthew Dear has blurred the lines between art pop and electronic music. Coming up quickly in the wider Michigan electronic scene, he found a devoted fan base thanks to a sound that repurposed David Bowie-influenced songwriting for bustling late-night dance floors. Blending genres is second nature for Dear, but his latest, a forgotten collection of guitar-driven tracks, is unlike anything the producer has put out before. An homage to Dear's Texas upbringing, the sun-drenched, acoustic-oriented songs on Preacher's Sigh & Potion: Lost Album are rough-hewn slices of outlaw country that can't quite escape the essence of the club. They offer proof that the prolific multi-instrumentalist may be even more dextrous than he previously let on. The record holds up alongside standout moments from Dear's discography, but adopts an unexpectedly rugged disposition.
Recorded between 2007's playful Asa Breed and 2010's nocturnal Black City, Preacher's Sigh & Potion was ultimately shelved because of Dear's rising popularity in the indietronica circuit. After spending time on the road with Hot Chip and remixing artists like The Postal Service and Spoon, straying from dance music to pursue murky home-grown tape recordings might have risked derailing his momentum as a DJ. However, 2021 also seems like the perfect time for him to finally release such a surprising album. Now a sober father living in Ann Arbor and teaching at the University Of Michigan, his party nights dwell in the shadow of adulthood. The ruddy oddities on Preacher's Sigh & Potion exhibit maturity, even though they came to life when he was younger. "Now is a good time to put out this kind of record that shows, 'Here is this other side that was happening at this time that there was just no way I could have explained it to you guys then. It would have been so confusing if I would have put it out,'" Dear said in a recent interview with Vinyl Me Please Magazine.
Recorded on equipment Dear inherited from his late father (a fingerpicking guitarist in the '60s and '70s), Preacher's Sigh & Potion uses looping techniques to craft shimmering sonic worlds. On "Sow Down," a layered desert rock riff lays the framework for playfully ominous lyrics. "All Her Fits" finds wonky vocals sitting atop an instrumental that sounds like Sung Tongs era Animal Collective toying with '90s slacker rock. Meanwhile, "Muscle Beach"'s tinny, slightly detuned melody builds until it starts to recall a warped take on Delta blues. However, because of the digitized percussion and unearthly processing, even the folkiest cuts on the album can't fully distance themselves from Dear's electronic sensibilities.
Preacher's Sigh & Potion wears a cowboy attitude on its sleeve, but it's not without its fair share of modernism and ambience. With its cascading, manipulated arpeggiations and watery effects, "Head" plays more like the music of How To Dress Well than Blaze Foley. The closer, "Gutters And Beyond," employs jazzy, dissonant synth playing, evoking a late-night cityscape instead of a one horse saloon town. On "Hikers Y," neurotic musings about bad conversation ride atop a sparse house beat. While these tracks are certainly less fleshed out than Dear's usual work, they bring to mind early Four Tet as much as they do Townes Van Zandt. Preacher's Sigh & Potion sits nicely alongside early '00s folktronica releases from artists like The Books and Hood.
Thanks to Dear's commanding vocal delivery, the rambling poeticism is often offset by spunk and confidence on Preacher's Sigh & Potion. This bygone album lives up to its influences but never plays like the work of a DJ cosplaying as an alt-country star. Touting its reverence for the musical traditions of the Southwest, it still feels tied to the ethos of techno. The record offers a fascinating glimpse at what could have been if Dear's burgeoning success hadn't prevented him from embarking on a rock-oriented detour. Preacher's Sigh & Potion packs a dusty, scrubby punch, filling in a missing puzzle piece from Dear's backstory.
Tracklist01. Muscle Beach
02. Sow Down
03. Hikers Y
04. Never Divide
05. All Her Fits
06. Supper Times
07. Crash And Burn
08. Heart To Sing
09. Eye
10. Head
11. Gutters And Beyond