The online home of the songs and stories of Pennsylvania-based singer-songwriter Matt Wheeler.
NEWS
"A Hard History of Love", Matt's most recent suite of songs & stories, is inspired by short stories by my favorite living author, Wendell Berry. Fellow Berry fans will appreciate the musical re-imagining of these timeless stories of the Port William community; all listeners can appreciate the rich & wildly creative sonic textures that the brilliant team at Old Bear Studios joined Matt in making.
"The way we are, we are members of each other. All of us. Everything."
- Burley Coulter, in Berry's "The Wild Birds"
OLD BEAR RECORDS' REVIEW OF"WONDER OF IT ALL"
Old Bear Records is pleased to share with you the release of Matt Wheeler’s Wonder of It All. This 11 track album is a collection of both songs and warm poetic interludes. Each song is bookended by spoken word sections that set the table for the performances. One will note a tapestry of literary references, some subtle and some overt, throughout this work (Lewis’s The Horse and His Boy, Tolkien’s The Hobbit, Chesterton’s Orthodoxy, and Adams' Watership Down).
As for the songs themselves, each is a journey of discovery. The Violet Dark opens things with a feeling of mystery. By invoking a line from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince (“What is essential is invisible to the eye”), he encourages us to view situations and individuals with the heart rather than the eye. It has an Elliot Smith like essence that is at the same time endearing and foreboding. Both ‘The Road and the Common’ and ‘Little Bird or There and Back Again’ are delightful traveling songs that may feel at home beside John Denver or James Taylor on your folky road trip playlist. ‘Aravis’ is a romantic waltz looking back at a young love that has “come so far”, both weathered and strengthened by the years. The closing song, ’Wonder of it All’, is a meditation on how Creation declares the glory of the Creator. This poetic, literarily informed, naturalistic album will especially strike a chord for those who appreciate those same qualities in the work of Rich Mullins and Andrew Peterson. The production has an experimental folk quality to it: shimmering acoustic guitars, dobro, and mellotron combine perfectly with complexly layered background harmonies, field recordings of bird song, and even recording percussion by flipping the pages of books.
Wheeler takes you by the hand and, rather than relying on imperatives, gently leads you into a place of wonder. While some art demands something of you, one gets the feeling that this work is an expression of care for the listener.
Order "WONDER OF IT ALL" on vinyl
NOW AVAILABLE on streaming & download sites: Wonder of It All, a collection of five songs, each based on a classic work of literature, & accompanied by stage banter/audiobook-style story pieces. Recorded with Old Bear Studio in Batavia, New York.
The cover art is a linocut print custom-made by Ned Bustard of World's End Images.
Click the album cover art image to be directed to where you can stream & buy the album.
Pre-orders for the vinyl version of the new album - & also new merch including custom leather bookmarks from Growley Leather Company - are now live. Visit the “Shop” link on this page to learn more.
The cover art is a linocut print custom-made by Ned Bustard of World's End Images.
Click the album cover art image to be directed to where you can stream & buy the album.
Pre-orders for the vinyl version of the new album - & also new merch including custom leather bookmarks from Growley Leather Company - are now live. Visit the “Shop” link on this page to learn more.
My rendition of Ernie's "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon" from Sesame Street is now available!
It's a walk down memory lane. It's a song about dreams, about adventures, & about home. And it's my son's favorite song.
You can stream or download it now on various platforms - click the cover art for the link to listen on Spotify or download on Bandcamp. I hope it brings back good memories for you, or brings joyful new memories with the children in your life.
Art credit: My friend & producer Steven Courtney's 6-year-old granddaughter.
"Warm sound & heartfelt lyrics. If you are a fan of Josh Ritter, give a listen to Matt!” - Helen Leicht, WXPN Philadelphia
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Questions? Reach out to us at [email protected].