This Saturday at 8pm EST, catch indie singer-songwriter Thin Lear perform a Baby’s All Right live stream presented by BABY TV. Tickets are available here on a sliding scale starting at $5. The show will include songs from his critically-acclaimed debut album Wooden Cave, out now on EggHunt Records. NPR featured Thin Lear on New Music Friday alongside Taylor Swift’s Folklore. The album received a 9/10 review from PopMatters, who called it “one of the best, if not the best album of this year,” praising Thin Lear’s “chamber-pop perfection of the highest order.” Earlier this summer, Thin Lear performed for The Wild Honey Pie’s “Buzzsessions” with a cover of Donovan’s “To Sing For You” and a beautiful rendition of his own song “Different Tune.” The Buzzsesion was released for streaming on Friday! Available on most DSPS here, it’s the perfect addition to any summer playlist.
Wooden Cave includes the singles “Maniacs,” that American Songwriter described as “immensely satisfying,” the beautiful “Death in a Field,” which Earmilk called “intimate and dreamy” and “as tasteful as indie rock gets,” as well as “A Simple Phrase,” which GoldFlakePaint praised as “delicate and hypnotic,” and his latest single, the urgent “Behold You Now.” Then, of course, there’s the title track “Wooden Cave,” which features intricately placed vocals that flow alongside ominous strings and piano to narrate the story of a dangerous loner, a tale more timely than ever. As Thin Lear describes, “It’s a song against people who weaponize their loneliness, turn it into rage, and point it outward.”
The overarching theme of Wooden Cave is one of isolation and self-exploration. As he began writing the record, Longo studied 1920’s occultist Netta Fornario and her mysterious life, particularly her experience on a tiny island off of Scotland. He found himself dreaming of her on a consistent basis, often waking with a fleeting image of the woman. Though they’ve experienced very different lives, Longo felt an immediate empathy for her, and recognized her story as that of an artist. Much of the resulting album was inspired by this initial connection. The resulting record creates a hazy alternate reality to showcase the respective mentalities of a rotating group of outcasts.
For more information about Thin Lear, connect with him on social media @thinlear or visit his website at thinlear.com. Purchase Wooden Cave here.
“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
ABOUT BABY TV LIVE STREAM:
Tickets are on a sliding scale and all grant you access to the same show. Proceeds from each livestream will be split between the artists playing, the staff at Baby’s All Right ineligible for government aid during our closure, a wonderful community organization called Make The Road NY, and The Audre Lorde Project.
Ticket holders will receive a link and password 30 minutes before the start of the show. Check your spam folder if you don’t see it! Anyone purchasing tickets the 30 minutes leading up to a performance will receive their info in their order confirmation email.
