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Sound Advice: Get In Or Get Out by Matters
Every Tuesday, Torontoist scours record store shelves in search of the city’s most notable new releases and brings you the best—or sometimes just the biggest—of what we’ve heard in Sound Advice.
Please pardon our slight gun-jumping on this one. New music from the D’Urbervilles made its way online yesterday—only, the band isn’t called that anymore. They’ve gone and changed their name to Matters, and while no reason was given, some tweets suggested it had to do with the awkwardness (it’s really not that hard!) of the previous name.
The burgeoning post-punk Oshawa indie group had been silent for a while—since before lead singer John O’Regan’s blow-up as Diamond Rings began, a project that itself was born of a D’Urbervilles hiatus as O’Regan recovered from health problems. Then, just last week, hark: the band posted a tweet, a damn cryptic one, leading to an ominous countdown clock on the now-redirecting website. NOW Magazine assumed it was their own ticking timebomb, but the band isn’t going out with that bang just yet.
Get In Or Get Out, their debut seven-inch as Matters, won’t be out until April 5, with a full-length album slated for an unspecified fall release. But we’re yelling about it now because the A-side title track is full of over-driven urgency. And get ready to hit repeat, because once isn’t enough for its dark-tension-gang-vocals release of fun.
The B-side sees a bit of O’Regan’s side project creeping in: “Wild Steps” is electronic-tinged, laced with synth organ and sampled drums, creating atmosphere over anthem. O’Regan’s signature baritone fills the open spaces alongside just hints of guitar tones placed sparsely, the melody more cohesive than the tempered and taut time changes of past D’Urbs offerings. If it didn’t have the name Matters on it, it could easily pass as a Diamond Rings solo jam. As a Matters matter, however, it just doesn’t quite satisfy.
The Get In Or Get Out single is currently streaming on the new Matters Bandcamp site, and you can pre-order one of five hundred limited copies on black vinyl from O’Regan’s own Hype Lighter imprint.