“That Thin Lear album is amazing.”
Robin Hilton, NPR’s New Music Friday
“Wooden Cave — easily one of the best, if not the best album of this horrifying year so far — does what so many of the best albums do. It creates a unique artistic statement that’s a pleasure to hear from start to finish but includes plenty of ugly truths and harsh realities. Matt Longo isn’t immune to the horrors of the world, but he knows how to wrap them up in gorgeous, lush, sophisticated songs.”
Chris Ingalls, PopMatters
“A well-crafted set of orchestral pop…a lush sound…with often-dark lyrics of alienation and self-destruction.”
Don Yates, KEXP
“Wooden Cave is on par with the albums that inspired it: Leonard Cohen’s dark backroom soliloquies and the more bittersweet moments of Nilsson’s drifty pop. It’s a fantastic debut with songs that would be just as strong played alone on a piano as they are in their complexly arranged forms.”
Fred Thomas, AllMusic (4/5)
“A warm, rich, and intimate chamber-pop album that revolves around life, love, death and dreams.“
Jen Dan, The Big Takeover
“Thin Lear’s sophisticated rock music is tempered with soaring chamber pop accents and an undeniable gift for melody.”
Jes Skolnik, Bandcamp’s New & Noteworthy
“A gem.”
Craig Shelbourne, The Bluegrass Situation
“Beautifully elegant…delicate & hypnotic.”
Tom Johnson, GoldFlakePaint
“At once hard to describe, but easy to grab onto…immensely satisfying. Thin Lear is extremely thoughtful in its combining of the five elements of music: melody, harmony, rhythm, tone color, and form.”
Kira Grunenberg, American Songwriter
“An enigmatic cross between Belle and Sebastian, Wilco, and Ben Folds…a master of his craft…as tasteful as indie rock gets.”
Zachary Keirstead, Earmilk
“The recordings are rich with unique musical nuance, conjuring up the insular worlds of Astral Weeks-era Van Morrison, Tim Buckley, and Shuggie Otis.”
Mike Olinger, The Vinyl District
“His voice washes over you like a lullaby. It’s an honest portrait of a moment in time, punctuated by the content we lean into to make peace with the turbulence.”
Corinne Osnos, The Wild Honey Pie
“…ambitious and has a lot of nerve in paring down sounds to their most resonant, and at times haunting, while preserving a solid folkish feel.”
Hannah Means-Shannon, Tower Records