Massachusetts 2010 (Vinyl)

Trained as a painter but best known for his role as a founding member (and the extraordinarily agile bassist) of chamber pop heavy-hitters Ra Ra Riot, MathieuSantos has surprised himself by making a solo record. The songs that compose Massachusetts 2010, to be released this summer on Barsuk, were first written--you guessed it--last year in the great state of Massachusetts. Following their recording, however, those demos were set aside and left to sit while Santos spent time on the road with his main band. In the winter and spring of 2011, he returned to the 10 songs with fresh perspective and a critical distance from the context in which they were originally written. Applying his visual artists focus on only the most essential compositional elements, Santos borrowed a friends guest house in rural New Jersey and finalized the album in just a few days there. He worked quickly, maintaining the impulsive freedom of the original writing process but stripping down the palette and creating an arresting sonic environment that sparkles with tantalizing abstract imagery and finely-observed details, set against a backdrop of wide open spaces.

• Format Detail: Vinyl only
• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Rock