take me back to when the night was young, and another song was sung

When I am mayor of Wise and Awesome Song-Composition Choices, I think I will mandate a period where all percussion has to be naturally derived, i.e. something you can clap out with just the hands you and your friends have, the feet that can clatter and rattle the floorboards, and that ‘fwap’ sound you can make by hitting your thigh. Also, since it is one of my most-enjoyed driving pastimes, I may also allow drumming onto a steering wheel while simultaneously trying to keep the car from drifting into the next lane.

You might recall this affinity expressed in my Stomp/Clap mix (probably my most beloved mix I’ve made for myself yet). Therefore, I was stoked to meet Matthew and The Atlas.

Matthew Hegarty and his four bandmates are from around London, and their band has grown up in the regular Communion music-collective nights at the Notting Hill Arts Club (along with acts like Laura Marling, Noah and The Whale, and Mumford & Sons). They’re signed to the record label that has sprung up out of these nights, headed by Mumford & Sons’ Ben Lovett: the newly-formed Communion Records.

As you can see, their suspenders above emphatically state, “Why yes. We do play the banjo. And we make Americana music more stirringly than many of your true-blooded natives.”

This song sings about recognizing your roots as they change, and falling far, far from the tree. I feel an immense swell of wide-open horizons pounded in the soul of this song here.

I Will Remain – Matthew & The Atlas

Just off tour with Mumford & Sons (who hit Denver in exactly one week!!), Matthew and The Atlas are releasing their Kingdom Of Your Own EP on November 4th at The Borderline in London.

You can also download another track of theirs, “Deadwood,” for the price of an email address here.