Vern Matz released a new single and music video, Fish Tank, through Nice Guys. Daniel Belgrad and Michael Lituchy of Vern Matz recorded this single with TOLEDO, joining Daniel at the production helm.
The song opens with warm yet sleepy melody on the electric, played with a finger slide. Several layers of acoustic add both texture and rhythm. Daniel’s vocals are tripled (if not quadrupled), giving his voice a thick presence while being mixed down in the music. Everything blends very well together.
The drums have a natural room sound with up-close mics, placing them in the middle of the mix. There is a shaker-like sound in the center, which sounds as though they rubbed the snare top with a glove to add to the percussion. (Either that, or they tracked a shaker with a low-pass filter to remove the sizzle.) There are also occasional muffled handclaps that help make the beat more complex.
They also released a music video, of cold winter scenes during a stay in Minnesota. Daniel explains on YouTube, “I shot this in Minnesota at a pain rehab clinic, where I made some friends and ditched some meds.”
Old memories
Vern Matz – Fish Tank
Catching me like a mouse trap
I’ve got so many regrets
I stopped counting years ago
Fish Tank is a really nice folky bedroom pop song; it has an earthier tone in comparison to previous Vern Matz songs. This song follows the beautiful emotive Star Hunting single that Daniel recorded with Eva Lamazzerolles. Vern Matz has released three EPs and one LP since they began in 2017, and if you haven’t heard them, you should take the time to listen.
Note: Daniel Belgrad writes regularly for Puddlegum; this review was written by Kevin Flick.
Vern Matz links:
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