Talkin' New York, Vol. 2 - Matt Singer

Matt Singer is a Brooklyn based singer/songwriter who has spent the better part of the past few years playing some of New York’s finer small music venues. He has delighted audiences in rooms such as Rockwood Music Hall, The Living Room, Pianos, The Bitter End, and the Sidewalk Café, and recently played before a sold out crowd at Joe’s Pub when he opened for The Undisputed Heavyweights. Having seen him perform twice I can safely say his live shows thrive in such intimate settings, as they revel in audience participation, whether he makes them laugh out loud to his often quirky lyrics, whistle along with the tune as he sings over them, or clap along to provide a little rhythm.

His 2006 album, All Us Heathens, is full of folk/rap songs that are at once socially conscious, heartfelt, and hilarious. His lyrics, while always whip-smart and aberrant, stay well above the parody line because of their base in reality - more informed wise-guy than naive wise-ass. Every off-color story he tells, or trendy pop-culture reference he makes, finds a way to convey a real human truth, similar to the way Eef Barzalay (of Clem Snide) does in his “Ballad of Bitter Honey” from his 2006 solo album Bitter Honey. In addition to the new album, a few of Singer’s recent songs have found their way onto pretty prominent NY-based compilations. “Stacy J” (streaming at his myspace, and laugh-out-loud funny. Seriously, you have to hear it!) and “VHS” were both recently featured on Cross-Pollination: The Mixtape Vol.1 and the AntiComp Folkilation, respectively.

According to his bio:

Twenty-two years ago, Matt Singer’s kindergarten teacher recommended that he be seen by a child psychologist for a formal evaluation. The doctor said this:

“Although he exhibits skills in many areas, he seems unable to deal with frustration. When presented with something unfamiliar, his typical response is ‘I can’t’, rather than ‘I’ll try’. He was referred for testing to determine whether he is unable or simply unwilling to try new things.”

Nowadays, Matt tries new things on stage and in recordings, telling his listeners all about his ugly demons while blending social commentary and humor. He writes personal and expressive music, bridging folk, alternative, and hip-hop, to share genuine feelings about family, romance, anxiety, higher education, and occasionally New Jersey. Matt’s been writing songs since age four, when he spawned “Beep-Beep-Bop-Bop-Bop-Beep,” a whimsical yet touching piece about a boy’s love for eating toothpaste. Matt still brushes regularly, but now focuses most of his musical energy on his relationships, his fantasies, and of course, George W. Bush.

Matt has plenty of noteworthy upcoming NY performances. Check him out at one of the following:

4/13 - Sidewalk Café, Manhattan (“this is a benefit to raise money for kids from low income families to attend an awesome camping trip in upstate NY“)

4/19 - The Baggot Inn, Manhattan

4/30 - Rockwood Music Hall, Manhattan

MP3 :: Constellations
(from Heathens)

MP3 :: VHS
(from the AntiComp Folkilation)

MP3 :: The Clones
(from the Words of Mass Destruction EP, 2004)

MP3 :: Scary
(from Sublimation, 2003)

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Visit Matt Singer’s website for more information
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