Matt Hires
American Wilderness
Reviewed by: Lauren Rosier
The Nashville-based singer/songwriter, Matt Hires, returns with a powerful statement in his third full-length album, American Wilderness. The record is an extremely powerful diary of Hires’ life experiences and the continuous journey of contemplating life, personal growth, and faith.
The record opens with the emotionally compelling song, “Fighting a Ghost,” where he sings about life and fighting past struggles. “What do you say when your heart’s not in it / what do you do when there’s no new beginning / how to do you start / when you’ve forgotten how to finish / or how to be free again / or what the word even meant…”
Hires explores faith on “Glory Bound” where he sings “Glory bound / I’m glory bound / I could use a little help right now / yeah, the devil’s in my doorway / and he ain’t leaving / so I keep the light on my rifle right next to me / and a stack of black Bibles / too bloody to breathe…”
The acoustic guitar-led track, “Begin Again,” explores the desire for a new beginning, a new start. “I want to make hope my friend / shake the dust and start over…”
“The Tragedy of the Leaves” is a powerful story of Hires’ personal experiences with death and the struggles we all go through in life. The song opens with the lyrics: “I woke up to winter / in light breaking through my eyelids / everything barren and splintered / like being cradled inside a coffin…” He continues with the emotional story of his aunt’s suicide: “…my mother’s sister took her life in a hotel bedroom / the empty bottle beside her / I always wondered did she keep the lights on…” and his personal struggles: “I’ve made some mistakes, boy / lived a few days that I wish / I could retract / lived like a liar with my girl / I fell apart and she still forgave that / I know the leaves are tragedy / but she still wakes up next to me…”
American Wilderness is such a strong record from start to finish; filled with messages of hope, faith, love, lost, and life; emotions, events, and experiences that have shaped who Hires is today. As he sings in “Begin Again,” “so many mistakes left behind me / but I’m not going to let ‘em define me / but make me a better man.”
Rating: Iconic
