With his best album yet ready for its Oct. 14 release, indie musician Matt Hires is ready to show the world how artistic independence can be the key to success.
In support of his upcoming full-length album “American Wilderness,” Hires will be kicking off his tour on Sept. 24 and landing at Valley Bar on Sept. 30. The singer-songwriter promised to bring Phoenix a fun set filled with more songs than ever before, in a medley of new and old material.
It’s strange to see an artist like Hires embarking on a national tour with a well-recorded album to promote. Before signing onto indie label Rock Ridge Music in August, Hires created “American Wilderness” as a fully independent artist, with the company of friends and instruments, rather than a full-blown production team. The musician willingly took on the trials of independence as he began his songwriting process nearly two years ago, moving from Tampa, Florida, to music capitol Nashville, Tennessee — and he came out successful.
“Being independent, I think it was really good for me,” Hires said. “I was able to sort of find out what I wanted to be, going forward musically, and get the freedom to be able to do that.”
This newfound artistic freedom clearly shows in the contrast between his past and present songwriting.
Before “American Wilderness,” Hires often leaned on pop melodies as a backdrop for his music. Songs like “Restless Heart” and “Forever” were filled with universally appealing, positive messages and upbeat tunes with scattered moments of emotional depth. The songs were well-written, but often affected by a desire to reach large audiences.
“When I wrote before, sometimes I’d be thinking, ‘What’s the record label going to say?’” Hires said. “‘Is this going to do well on radio?’ I’d think about singles. I didn’t think about any of that at all in trying to write an honest album.”
The musician’s willingness to delve into heavier subjects in “American Wilderness” helped develop a diverse set of album themes. Hires sings about a desire to start over, sadness and conflict — personal and even philosophical subjects that easily differentiate the album from the singer’s previous works.
“It’s sort of a wrestling kind of album,” Hires said. “There’s a lot of wrestling with faith and culture, and wrestling with my own insecurities … I had a friend tell me once to write songs as if you’re already dead, so I wanted to not have anything hanging over my shoulders.”
The diversity of content in “American Wilderness” stretches to include a wide range of genres, as well.
The album proves that Hires has mastered a unique talent in maximizing his vocals to fit every present genre. Through the 10 tracks, Hires maintains his overarching indie sound. However, in the folk-inspired “Fighting A Ghost,” Hires showcases the rawness of his voice. The singer also traverses into the realm of rock, adding new components to his sound to showcase the grittiness of his voice in “Holy War” — a track reminiscent of brilliant Oasis hits.
Furthering the mass innovation of “American Wilderness” is a handful of album highlights.
In addition to the aforementioned “Holy War,” fans should especially look forward to hearing “The Wilderness.” The extremely energetic song, lined with catchy melodies and a creative bridge, melds together a large vocal range, instrumental crescendos and thought-provoking, nature-focused lyrics to create the perfect indie hit.
Fans should also listen for “Begin Again,” a fully acoustic track that shows off Hires’ ability to simplify without boring. The song introduces some of the album’s novel-worthy lyrics, calling for listeners to “take it back where we started before our friends got divorced and we turned into cynics,” for a raw track that is free of pretentions.
After listening to the intriguing and powerful “The Tragedy of Leaves,” fans should focus on playing and replaying “Don’t Let Your Heart Grow Cold” — the beautiful album finale that Hires noted as his favorite track. Ending the emotional rollercoaster of an album, the song brings a hopeful message about growth, love and seeing the beauty in the world. The track shows Hires’ sophisticated storytelling abilities, while including a burst of instruments halfway through for those who aren’t thoroughly impressed by the simplistic opening guitar melodies.
“It’s one of the most personal songs I’ve ever written, so I’m really proud of that one and hope that people like what they hear,” said Hires.
As a whole, the album is rock solid, unbelievably impressive and quite possibly the best improvement I’ve seen from an artist this year. More than ever, Hires sounds confident in his sound — a true display of maturity and readiness to make a trademark out of his style. The musician said this sureness is something he feels, as well.
“It’s a big step in the direction that I want to go as an artist,” Hires said. “I think that that came together well. I’m most proud of how the album was made. I just did it with me and some friends and I think we made an awesome album.”
Preorders of “American Wilderness” are available on iTunes now.
Contact the columnist at Emily.Liu@asu.edu.
