Paper + Plastik Records is bringing us a new EP from folk artist Matt Pless this September 13, a follow-up to the 2017 full-length Catch Me if You Can. If you’re already a fan of this long-winded young singer/songwriter then that bit of news probably arouses more than a little excitement, and if you’ve never heard of him then you’re in luck, because Dying Scene is premiering a wonderful new track off the upcoming Nero EP called “When the Frayed Wind Blows” RIGHT MEOW! It’s a song filled with wise-cracking perspective harried in the Greenwich Village tradition of American folk rock resurgence re-personified as:
“xeroxed zines, pixel memes and screen printed patches waxing philosophical mayhem on a leather jacket. It’s prophetic graffiti, stickers, pins and stick and poke tattoos, It’s self education, self organization, and selfish yet selfless all at once. It’s in the starry hungry eyes of every idealist weirdo I have met along the road, spitting in the face of injustice and hitching a ride toward a new tomorrow. It’s a wild moment in history and if you are reading this, you are probably a part of it. Call it DIY, call it folk punk, call it revolution, call it foolishness…call it whatever you want. I like to think that this is the stuff of inspirational legend, lightning in a bottle, magical liberating chaos on fire.”
That’s an old quote but it still fits, and perhaps predicates a bit of the passion Pless obviously feels about his craft. Of course, I’m of the camp that just calls it folk punk, but when it really comes down to it, “When the Frayed Wind Blows” is a tune that speaks for itself and there’s not much I can say that Pless doesn’t already punctuate conclusively. There is no shortage of clever lyrics for excerpts with the only issue residing in the decision where to actually place that closing quotation mark. No way are this writer’s chicken peckers typing out that whole song! You can stream “When the Frayed Wind Blows” below, and enjoy!