system breaks

I just finished watching Euphoria, and while I won't get into details of what I thought of the series last season, it brought back this feeling of hopeless, yet romantic nostalgia in my life. That's the same kind of vibe I felt after listening to Vancouver-based alt-soul artist Matt Storm's new album, SYSTEM BREAKS.

Today on the menu, we've got the album's title track - a song that could easily soundtrack that moment in everyone's life when, after a series of misfortunes, you just know things will turn around as long as you keep pushing just a little longer.

Before we dive into "system breaks", I wanted to share with you Matt's story. For him, music arrived long before songwriting did. Born in the US, his childhood unfolded across continents. He spent his youth moving around the world - Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Kenya, and Canada were some of the destinations that inevitably shaped his character. I guess this kind of constant movement became a defining rhythm of his early years, and music was the one thing that never changed. Eventually, the pair of eadphones became a sanctuary - a familiar voice in unfamiliar places. "I was always the one who made sure we had the Discman and extra batteries and all my favourite albums before we travelled. My bag was always heavy as sh%t," he recalls.

Long before he picked up a guitar at 13, he was already building a deep relationship with music - obsessing over records, studying artwork, and chasing sounds that felt like hidden treasures. "When I’d stumble upon a cool album sitting around the house that none of my friends had heard of, I’d really challenge myself to get to know it."

After listening to most of his catalog, I feel this diversity is what makes Matt's sound truly unique and what drew me in the first place. Every time I play the song, I feel like I'm hearing it for the first time. So many nuances and different emotions. I rarely pay too much attention to the lyrics (weird, I know), but this time it felt different. The song tells the story of a man beaten down by a modern system of micro-oppressions, unable to make himself without the help of the machine. Add the beautifully distorted vocals, pocket drumming, and acoustic guitar fingerpicking, and you've got a masterpiece.

I hope this feature sparked your interest and you dive deep into Matt Storm's music. You won't regret it.