Unfamiliar Things is a Los Angeles-based indie outfit fronted by music producer and writer Matt Levy. In July of 2024, Matt had the idea to write and produce an entire album during its release. The concept was drawn out and explained to followers of the band’s Instagram, noting its unique production schedule by making sure the writing is never more than one month ahead of the following release. Each month, Matt begins with a blank slate and takes that month’s brand new music through the writing, recording, mixing and mastering process all before hand painting the album cover and turning it in, all to turn back around and start over.
The move is in response to today’s demanding music release schedules, all of which suggest a new release every 4-6 weeks. Matt decided to use his experience producing music for television and efficient writing practice to his benefit, partnering up with brother David Levy to hit deadlines month after month, promising that new fans will not only have a back catalog including the first LP (Unfamiliar Things, 2023) but have a reliable and steady stream of new music, always looking forward! For this month, the band introduces “Someur Sault” a tongue-in-cheek indie folk tune begging the attention of anybody who has thought of just leaving everything behind and running away to some better place.
“No Honey in the Hive is my most exciting and most ambitious project to date. The prospect of releasing an album in real time as it’s being recorded is daunting but the reward is something I never expected. The general order of things is, you go into the studio and record an album and then you pick singles or your favorites and release them slowly to give people time to discover your music. Doing it my way, you get to write and record a song, and before the high and excitement of that creative burst is extinguished, it’s there on Spotify and Apple Music, out in the world and you get to watch people enjoy it while you’re still on the high of creating it!
The most recent song, Someur Sault is equally as exciting as the project itself. It gives the listener this big burst of sound right off the bat. The track is so energetic you’re never expecting the narrator to dive into this poetic diatribe about boredom and complacency. That being said, I was feeling like the dog days of summer were drifting in a little too long for my taste. I felt stuck in the city, felt stuck in my project, and felt stuck in the heat. My initial feeling was just to run away, which is when I turned back to an old poem I love called “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by W. B. Yeats. I also turned to my brother and frequent collaborator David Levy, who helped hone some of these thoughts into more concise phrases. Coupled together with my production style I think it all made for a very well put together track. I’m excited for everybody to hear what I have to say and I hope anybody who reads this or hears these songs decides to follow along for the rest of the project! There’s many months to come and, honestly, I’m enjoying it so much I may never stop releasing records like this!”
