Matt Dorrien

Matt Dorrien&#39;s debut <a href="spotify:album:1A0Qp98sLOiSA9dKVIAGkl" data-name="In the Key of Grey">In the Key of Grey</a> was a reflection of its somber mood and post-breakup theme. This one’s called <a href="spotify:album:5YSblTjrQERZNLgbGhSz8z" data-name="Blue Pastoral">Blue Pastoral</a>—big, expansive, rich, colorful, covering everything from fizzy samba-surf exotica to twinkling cocktail jazz. Its songs boast the stacked-harmony glory of <a href="spotify:album:1zOxlHQGGV6EH7n4OIFTyh" data-name="XO">XO</a>-era <a href="spotify:artist:2ApaG60P4r0yhBoDCGD8YG" data-name="Elliott Smith">Elliott Smith</a>, the wry humor of vintage <a href="spotify:artist:3RTzAwFprBqiskp550eSJX" data-name="Harry Nilsson">Harry Nilsson</a>, and the warm melodies and expansive production style of the late <a href="spotify:artist:7fSjnDr8tBO37Xbb2UXuYr" data-name="Richard Swift">Richard Swift</a>. Holding it all together is Dorrien’s innate knack for tender, immediate melodies and his restless exploration of a host of genres. “Baby, Will You Come Back Home?” is a nod to <a href="spotify:artist:5JYtpnUKxAzXfHEYpOeeit" data-name="Jorge Ben Jor">Jorge Ben Jor</a>’s <a href="spotify:album:5rcMJNWebtl2r2S18Je1A0" data-name="A Tabua De Esmeralda">A Tabua De Esmeralda</a>. Dorrien says, “Drummer John Niekrasz added percussive elements to mimic traditional Brazilian percussion, we layered vocal harmonies instead of strings, and co-producer <a href="spotify:artist:3ziQtmoC7Y5e2y4k3zfFy6" data-name="Ryan Oxford">Ryan Oxford</a>, who plays with <a href="spotify:artist:6eb2gxfoBSQhmDYkQKz93b" data-name="Y La Bamba">Y La Bamba</a>, added some Tropicalia-style guitar.” On “Friendly Face”, Dorrien goes even further back, crafting a homesick piano ballad in the style of <a href="spotify:artist:0ZC98hE2PleBKS61my6gly" data-name="Stephen Foster">Stephen Foster</a>. Lush album centerpiece “United States of Nothing”, with its rich, countermelodic string parts, summons the ghosts of <a href="spotify:artist:0nJvyjVTb8sAULPYyA1bqU" data-name="Aaron Copland">Aaron Copland</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1YuknfkSYTTbolRpwZBOv4" data-name="George Gershwin">George Gershwin</a>. A shuffling beat and skipping piano line recall <a href="spotify:artist:3kUKwTJdH8FuWzF8p6Dg9E" data-name="Dave Brubeck">Dave Brubeck</a> on &#34;Dance&#34;. And the softly swinging “Twenty Years”, sewn up by silvery slide guitar, moves gracefully from exasperation to acceptance—finding room for a Bach-influenced piano interlude along the way. <a href="spotify:album:5YSblTjrQERZNLgbGhSz8z" data-name="Blue Pastoral">Blue Pastoral</a> is a widescreen record—70mm songs bursting with color and detail.