Nobody Told Me by Matt Ward – Video Premiere

Adelaide alt-country singer-songwriter, Matt Ward has released Nobody Told Me, his first single following the successful 2021 album If I Was In Dallas Tonight.

Kicking off the new year with a new single and in some ways, a new sound, there's still a rich seam of country music running through the new song, with plenty of glorious, electrified guitar twang and pedal steel courtesy of his hometown band, The Rising Sons, but it's also a tantalising taste of where Matt may be heading.
 
"Following the release of my second album I took a break to recuperate. I took a trip to Tasmania to start discussing new album ideas with producer and musician Matt Fell,” Matt says. “For the past seven months I've been writing, recording and doing a little bit of producing - and absolutely loving it!”

On the new single, Matt draws on the rich history of uniquely Australian songwriting that successfully took elements of alt-country and folk music, bathed them in the landscape, big skies and red desert highways of this sunburnt country and created a sound that was poetic and highly evocative, countrified melodic rock. Think Paul Kelly, The Triffids and The Go-Betweens. 
 
Nobody Told Me was inspired by the famous Maggie Smith poem Good Bones, which is about how we have to shepherd ourselves/kids/loved ones through life, focusing on the positives of life (whilst also noting there is a dark side to life).
 
"The writing of the song began with a chord progression that I’ve been sitting on for a while and really loved," Matt reveals. "I heard and felt the need to sing the hook ’nobody told me’ repetitively at the end of each line and I knew it was going to be catchy, in line with a rambunctious Neil Young & Crazy Horse mood!" 
 
 "I then came across the Maggie Smith poem and its theme seemed to fit the line ‘nobody told me,’" adds Matt. "The lyrics are all mine and are a take on the light and shade of life. Writing the song was one of those moments where the words just flow from somewhere special."

The accompanying music video, which premieres today exclusively on Countrytown, was shot by local Adelaide film producer Aaron Schupann at Twin Earth Studios.

Matt says, “I wanted to shoot in the studio with my Adelaide band, the Rising Sons, to capture the vibe of making the track, this is because the track was recorded live at Twin Earth Studios.”

“It also demonstrates the diversity of my music with a track and video that has hints of Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Paul Kelly and The Triffids,” he adds. “It’s the start of a journey of releasing new music.”

Matt is currently recording music with both The Rising Sons in Adelaide and a studio album with Matt Fell in Tasmania, with plans to release a new full-length album in 2024.

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Keep up to date with Matt Ward, follow him on Facebook here.