“I moved to Denver. I quit my job. My grandfather died. I fell in and out of love. I toured all over the place. I spent a month living in Mauritius, the island country off Madagascar where my mom grew up,” says born-and-raised Florida musician Matthew Fowler about the ingredients of his new album The Grief We Gave Our Mother—out today via Signature Sounds Recordings. Fowler’s fine-tuned art of collecting these memories and displaying them in musical verse and melody is the key to his success as a songwriter. Even the act of amassing these special moments in time makes its way into Fowler’s indie-folk cannon. “My mind it sings of the memories / how they tug and cling / I lay listening” he sings in the opening lines of the album’s first single, “I’m Still Trying.”
Written over the course of the past several years and produced by Shane Leonard (Field Report, Mipso, Anna Tivel) The Grief We Gave Our Mother is a profoundly personal work of self-discovery and introspection, but more than that, it’s an ode to growing up and chasing dreams. The result is a record that’s at once bold and timid, hopeful and anxious, world-weary and naïve, an honest, revelatory collection all about putting one foot in front of the other and forging a life of purpose, passion, and meaning. “This record is the sound of me finding myself and my place in the world,” Fowler reflects. “It’s about real moments and real stories and real people.”
Fans can stream or purchase The Grief We Gave Our Mother today at this link.
Catch Matthew Fowler on Tour: Fowler is gearing up to head out on tour in September and October, including stops in New York City, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Athens, Georgia. On Saturday, September 25 at 8:30pm, Fowler will play a showcase for Nashville’s annual AMERICANAFEST at City Winery Lounge. A full list of tour dates can be found below.
9/12 - Williamstown, MA - The Barn (w/Double Diamond)
9/13 - Southbury, CT - House Show
9/14 - Woodbury, CT - Woodbury Brewing Company (w/Dan Rodriguez)
9/15 - New York City, NY - Rockwood Music Hall Stage 3
9/16 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Caffe Lena
9/17 - Cambridge, MA - Club Passim (w/Heather Maloney)
9/18 - South Egremont, MA - The Egremont Barn
9/19 - Easthampton, MA - Arcadia Folk Festival
9/21 - Norfolk, VA - Kobros Coffee
9/25 - Nashville, TN - AMERICANAFEST
9/26 - St. Augustine, FL - Sing Out Loud Festival
9/29 - Athens, GA - Georgia Theatre Rooftop
10/5 - St. Petersburg, FL - Hideaway Cafe (w/Liam Bauman)
10/8 - Gainesville, FL - Heartwood Soundstage (w/Riley Moore)
10/9 - Jacksonville, FL - Blue Jay Listening Room (w/Riley Moore)
10/10 - Orlando, FL - Will’s Pub (w/Riley Moore)
The Grief We Gave Our Mother Tracklist:
Marianne
Been A Lover
Reprise
Blankets
I Fall Away
Leaving Home, Looking Back
Everything That I Could
I’m Still Trying
Rest
Going Nowhere
Cassie
Rooftops
Beginners
