When I started this blog eleven years ago, I thought I had it mostly figured it out. I had the career stuff down, I was making good money for a 22-year-old, and I was doing what I’d always wanted to do. I wanted only for someone to chase away the lonely nights. Country music was the perfect soundtrack for that yearning – a desire for independence, reconciling with the loneliness that brings, and hoping someone could tame my heart for me.
Well, I’m staring down the barrel of 35 (this Wednesday!) and I can safely say that everything has flipped. Things didn’t work out the way they planned, and I still feel like I’m scrounging for stability. Things are good, but I’m confused, and that’s the central thesis of William Matheny’s That Grand, Old Feeling.
Matheny’s been hitting the pavement for almost as long as I’ve been writing Adobe & Teardrops and I think of him and his circle of artists (like Tucker Riggleman) as trickster gods of West Virginia and its local byways. Matheny wouldn’t disagree with me; That Grand, Old Feeling questions the wisdom of chasing white lines on eternal ribbons of asphalt, all to for the fleeting high of performing onstage.
Matheny isn’t bitter about it. “Late Blooming Forever” encapsulates that sardonic confusion: we know how we got here, but, like, really? I fully empathize with Matheny’s sense that he’s missing something everyone else has figured out. But hey – we all have fun, right? And maybe if that’s not all that matters, it definitely counts.
Sometimes we see a hint of spleen, though, as with the hard-driving “Every Way to Lose” and the country rock stomper “Heartless People.” Overall, though, Matheny lets us into his universe of pleasant disaffection. “Christian Name” shares Matheny’s private sense of humor and self-loathing, but the song’s sunny beat suggests it’s all a big joke.
If you’re reading this blog, there’s a good chance you empathize all too well with That Grand Old Feeling, for better or worse. Matheny doesn’t offer any answers here – I guess there aren’t any. But we all turn to this music, looking over our shoulders to see if maybe somebody has figured it out. Until then, here’s to more basement rock shows and miles on the odometer.
That Grand, Old Feeling will be available everywhere on Friday, 8/4
William Matheny — Official, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Spotify