''Strange Constellations'' is the first full-length studio album by the singer-songwriter William Matheny since the indefinite hiatus of

Southeast Engine Southeast Engine is an indie-folk-rock band from Athens, Ohio. With the help of The Wrens, the band signed with Misra Records in 2007 and released their first internationally distributed album later that year. Their music has seen critical accla ...

, released on February 17, 2017. It is his debut release on

Misra Records Misra Records is an independent record label based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The label is distributed by Redeye Worldwide. Founded in 1999, Misra Records is home to landmark releases by Destroyer, Phosphorescent, Shearwater, R. Ring (featuri ...

Recording

The album was primarily recorded at Trackside Studio in

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Cabell County, and the largest city in the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as the Tri-State Area. A h ...

. Additional recording took place at 3 Elliott Studio in

Athens, Ohio Athens is a city and the county seat of Athens County, Ohio. The population was 23,849 at the 2020 census. Located along the Hocking River within Appalachian Ohio about southeast of Columbus, Athens is best known as the home of Ohio Universit ...

, as well as Ronnie's Place and Electric Thunder, both in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. It was produced and engineered by Bud Carroll (with additional engineering by Justin Francis), and mixed by Francis. Jeff Lipton mastered the album at Peerless Mastering in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts, along with assistant mastering engineer Maria Rice.

Release

The illustration on the album cover was drawn by Bryn Perrott, with graphic design by David Pokrivnak. The album was released by

on compact disc and a limited-edition silver foil

vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

for the first run. After it sold out, the LP for the second run became a gold-foil inlaid package.

Reception

Daytrotter said of Matheny, "If you’re looking for your new favorite Americana rocker, look no further than the wonderful William Matheny," while comparing his sound favorably to The Jayhawks and

Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglück, bass guitarist Mil ...

. Additionally, "Living Half to Death" was chosen as a ''Heavy Rotation'' selection on NPR's

Weekend Edition ''Weekend Edition'' is a set of American radio news magazine programs produced and distributed by National Public Radio (NPR). It is the weekend counterpart to the NPR radio program ''Morning Edition''. It consists of ''Weekend Edition Saturday'' ...

, stating that "Matheny has a knack for spinning stores about roach-infested apartments and social anxiety into indie gold.".

Nashville Scene ''Nashville Scene'' is an alternative newsweekly in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1989, became a part of Village Voice Media in 1999, and later joined the ranks of sixteen other publications after a merger of Village Voice Media with ...

called it "a stout volume that folds some expert old-school storytelling into smart, nimble songs", while Paste praised it as "the perfect fusion of alt-country, rock, roots and pop."

Track listing

All songs written by William Matheny #"Teenage Bones" – 3:25 #"God's Left Hand" – 3:29 #"Out for Revenge" – 2:41 #"Living Half to Death" – 4:01 #"Blood Moon Singer" – 4:08 #"My Grandfather Knew

Stoney Cooper Dale Troy Cooper (October 16, 1918 – March 22, 1977), known professionally as Stoney Cooper, was an American country star and member of the Grand Ole Opry. He played the fiddle and the guitar. Biography Cooper was the son of Kenny and Stella ...

" – 5:13 #"29 Candles" – 3:24 #"Foolish of Me" – 3:16 #"Funny Papers" – 3:15 #"Man of Science" – 4:31 #"(I Pray) You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone" – 3:26

Personnel

*William Matheny – vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar, piano *Bud Carroll – drums, percussion, electric guitar, slide guitar, pedal steel, organ, vocals *Adam Meisterhans – bass, electric guitar, slide guitar, electric 12-string guitar, baritone guitar *Rod Elkins – percussion *Shane Keister – electric piano *Haley Slagle – vocals *Ian Thornton – bass *Brad Goodall – synthesizer *Andrew Gillum – drums *Zachary Nichols – Gabriel's horn *Gabe Muncy – trumpet *Robert Galloway – saxophone *Tyler Grady – vocals *Corey Hatton – vocals *Cody Hatton – vocals

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control 2017 albums Rock albums by American artists