He probably had to sit on that car for a bit to get the right shot (see above), but the LA-based Matthew Lurie has been sitting on his second album as Matthew & the Mainstream for far longer. For context: the initial seeds that bloomed into the 10-track record were planted back in 2017 at the latest – almost four years worth of on-off recording sessions later, here we are, lifting the lid on Rom Core.
Lurie released his debut album Girl Next to the Girl Next Door in 2012; rehearsed in a day and recorded in two, it aimed to recapture the golden age of session musicians knocking out albums at a similar speed. His follow-up, as stated, took the exact opposite approach (partly by necessity due to the pandemic), and it’s landing early next year.
First up, we’re premiering the bright and buoyant ‘Can’t Believe (You’re Living With Him)’, whose musical briskness meets sharp contrast in the form of its lovelorn lyric sheet – an ideal lead single from a record which is fixated on the worlds of both online and offline dating. A little bit power pop, a little bit baroque’n’roll, all Lurie – well, except for the added bonus of a Reggie Watts feature. He’s joined by musicians who’ve played with everyone from Van Dyke Parks to FINNEAS; Rom Core lands on Friday January 13th 2023.
