OUT NOW:
MATT LOVELL’S DEBUT LP NOBODY CRIES TODAY
Photo: Jason Lee Denton
"Lovell lends his smooth tenor to well-crafted and soulful songs about love, loss and finding his way in a complicated world. It’s a promising if not especially groundbreaking debut for a singer willing to range around with confidence even when he’s wrestling with complicated subjects. The songs…hold together in a soothing package that conveys a healthy disregard for musical boundaries" - The Associated Press
“Need some escapism? Matt Lovell has you covered” - PopDust
"Lovell knows how to tap into a part of himself that can bring the emotions…to the surface and doing so is all the more honorable, knowing the story he’s trying to tell, isn’t a made up screenplay; it’s one man being willing to revisit challenging parts of his life and do so with performative solemnity and grace." - American Songwriter
“Inspired by Lovell's own experience with pain and trauma…intended to serve as a light, reminding others it's possible to make it to the other side of their grief or misfortune” - Variance Magazine
“Singer-songwriter Matt Lovell grew up learning to sing three-part harmonies in a household steeped in soul and Southern gospel, influences which have wound their way into the music he makes today. Those roots anchor the tracks on his forthcoming LP, Nobody Cries Today” - Glide Magazine
“The album offers great variety and showcases Lovell’s natural songwriting and lyrical talent... the album ebbs and flows, offering the listener something new at every turn…this album has something for everyone. We are excited to share it with the world” - Groundsounds
"And while Lovell likes to ‘tell stories by first explaining how they end,’ this project feels like it’s just the beginning of something bigger" - Euphoria. Magazine
"The time is now right for Lovell to share his songs with the world, and you’ll be glad for that...Lovell writes and sings songs that easily put him on the same plane with Ray LaMontagne…and make no mistake. You can’t help but feel something when you hear the lyrics in these songs" - Americana Highways
“A bit celebratory, and a bit haunting” - The Indy Review
“Ultra-soulful, expressive vocals…pure and honest emotion" - Sound Thread
“Matt Lovell boasts a vocal that is somewhere between Bernhoft, Adam Levine, and Ray LaMontagne. The combination is a winning one as it is a voice that seeks out your soul and connects with it immediately." - Chimeo
“A beautiful country-soul album” - Adobe & Teardrops
“Beautiful riffs and calming guitar notes” - Unheard Gems
“Give it a listen. This is one you won’t want to miss.” - LA On Lock
"The moment I clicked play...I started smiling immediately" - Music is My Life
"This artist creates bewitching combinations...a gifted and talented singer-songwriter" - Independent Spirits
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Nashville-based singer/songwriter Matt Lovell has released his debut album, Nobody Cries Today. Recorded in Nashville and produced by Jars Of Clay’s Matt Odmark, the album’s nine tracks encompass an eight-year journey of survival and self-acceptance. “Lovell’s gentle spirit shines throughout,” said The Associated Press in its review. “From the slow-roll gospel cuts, ‘Be Free’ and ‘The Gospel’ to the nostalgic closer ‘The Way That It Was,’ he always sounds at peace with himself….Lovell’s wheelhouse is blue-eyed soul, but the mix regularly suggests a variety of influences.” "There are two things that immediately stand out when listening to the record,” remarked Euphoria Magazine. “The first is Lovell’s beautiful, raspy voice that colours each song wonderfully. The second is the reliance on acoustic guitars throughout the album. This should come as no surprise – the singer-songwriter is based in Nashville, after all. But as tempting as it is, it would be a disservice to the distinct variety of influences to pin Lovell down to just one genre."
LISTEN: NOBODY CRIES TODAY
“I often tell stories by first explaining how they end. Somehow the destination of a tale creates something like a center of gravity to draw all the details of the past towards the final point,” Lovell has said of his process. “The story told in these songs has had several endings and several beginnings, a natural byproduct when a project spans the course of so many years. In these years of writing and recording, I have gathered quite a wild palette of paints. In a way, Nobody Cries Today has actually been my teacher. As I have written these songs, each of them has been like a tiny rowboat to get me from one day to the next,” he said. “These songs have witnessed me in the years that I was in the throes of trying to find acceptance for myself and for the world I’m living in. As a gay man of Southern origin, this proved to be a tall order. These songs have also helped me to explore things like zest for life, discontent, hunger, truth, and hope.”
WATCH: “TROUBLE”
WATCH: “BE FREE”
WATCH: “ALLIGATOR LILLY”
WATCH: “90 PROOF”
All but one of the album’s songs were recorded in 2016 - just months before Lovell nearly lost his life. On January 20, 2017, he was shot in the chest in Nashville by a sixteen-year-old who attempted to steal his car. Miraculously, he lived. “This moment created a new center of gravity and re-ordered my understanding of everything I’ve experienced in this lifetime,” he explains. “Many people who experience acute trauma go through somewhat of a euphoric period immediately after the incident occurs, and this was definitely my experience. The level of peace I felt was something I had never touched before. I wrote profusely, I gardened, I brought new life and vigor to my musical ventures, and I made peace with complicated friendships. More than anything, I found a level of great self-acceptance and this created space for me to begin to learn how to live this life.”
This era ended with the abrupt onset of PTSD, causing the most difficult time Lovell had ever faced. He began to question everything and struggled to find a way to articulate the horrors he was experiencing. Now, on the other side of recovery, Lovell is excited to sing these songs again for anyone who will listen. “In these years of writing and recording, I have gathered quite a wild palette of paints,” he says. “In a way, Nobody Cries Today has actually been my teacher. As I have written these songs, each of them has been like a tiny rowboat to get me from one day to the next. They have witnessed me in the years that I was in the throes of trying to find acceptance for myself and for the world I’m living in. As a gay man of Southern origin, this proved to be a tall order. These songs have also helped me to explore things like zest for life, discontent, hunger, truth, and hope,” he continues. “Nobody Cries Today contains every bit of earnestness, desire, and love that I have to give.”
Nobody Cries Today is available for download at iTunes, Amazon Music, and Google Play. The album will be available on vinyl this fall - be sure to follow Matt Lovell at the links below for updates.
NOBODY CRIES TODAY TRACKLIST
TROUBLE
90 PROOF
SABOTAGE
ALLIGATOR LILLY
BE FREE
NOBODY CRIES TODAY
DIME ADIOS (SAY GOODBYE TO ME) ft. Leigh Nash
THE GOSPEL
THE WAY THAT IT WAS
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