William Matheny Announces New Album 'Material Witness'
(The GreenRoom) West Virginia singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist William Matheny will release his much-anticipated third album, Material Witness, on July 10. Recorded in Nashville with Grammy-winning producer-engineer Justin Francis, Matheny raises the stakes with ten original songs that find him contemplating mortality and the passage of time, with the most musically diverse project he's made to date. His signature storytelling, witty perspective and a voice that conveys both hard-won wisdom and heartfelt emotionalism shine throughout, as he delivers a performance that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant.
Speaking about the new music, Matheny stated, "Even though it's my most musically diverse record, it doesn't feel like a departure as much as a culmination, or maybe just the next room down the hallway of my work. I wanted to make a classic singer-songwriter record in the sense that it's unified by the narrative perspective as opposed to staying corralled in one genre or another."
Written solely by Matheny, Material Witness feels more like the confident work of an artist who's been making music for much longer, a result of paying his dues early, playing in bands with friends and family for two decades, and earning his place as one of the Mountain State's most vivid and dynamic musical voices. In 2008, Matheny joined the Ohio indie group Southeast Engine as a multi-instrumentalist, contributing to a couple of the band's releases on renowned indie label Misra Records, where he later released his solo debut record Strange Constellations in 2017. He jumped to Kentucky sensation and friend Tyler Childers' label Hickman Holler Records for the album That Grand, Old Feeling, and now has launched his own label, Diamond Teeth Records, to release Material Witness on July 10, with help from distributor Thirty Tigers' Americana-leaning affiliate Soundly.
Released today, his single "Mercy Journeys" marks the first taste of the upcoming project. The nostalgia-driven track, laced with soft gospel tones and a warm, reflective undercurrent, finds Matheny leaning into themes of grace, reckoning and the quiet passage of time. Recorded at Ronnie's Place Studio in Nashville, TN, the live performance visualizer for the track sees Matheny and his band in an intimate, stripped-back presentation, highlighting the song's organic instrumentation and emotional core.
Playing over 150 shows across the U.S. and Canada last year, including slots at NPR's Mountain Stage and opening tours for The Wallflowers, Lucero and American Aquarium, Matheny will continue touring solo and stints playing bass with fellow West Virginia singer-songwriter John R. Miller and keyboards with Washington, D.C., indie act Paranoid Style.
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