Matt Smith’s Nervous System – Today and Tomorrow Too
Matt Smith’s Nervous System, a Buffalo-based project led by scene veteran Matt Smith (guitar/vocals) alongside Roddy Potter (drums) and Colin Pratt (bass/vocals), returns with Today and Tomorrow Too, a six-track EP stealthily released on October 18th. Following two full-length LPs (Close Down The Dream in 2021 and The Age of Reasonable Expectations in 2023), this concise offering marks a shift in approach, focusing on atmosphere and texture. It feels like a compelling next step for a project that started as a mere outlet for Smith’s extraneous ideas. Today and Tomorrow Too is our Album of the Week.
The EP conjures the understated groovy cool of The Velvet Underground and serves it up with a simmering intensity not unlike the sounds of indie rock stalwarts The National. The result is an effort that strays a bit from the bluesy power-pop vibes of their debut in favor of a more introspective, subtly hypnotic sound. During the recording sessions earlier this year, the band described the EP-in-progress as “a real mixed bag of ups and downs set to ultra-sexy backbeats and souped up dreamscapes,” exploring themes of “black magic, natural disasters, memory loss, deep depressions, and love gone forever wrong.”
The pacing is deliberate, favoring slow burners this time around. The EP’s title track opener sets the tone with a hazy mid-tempo number on which Smith’s world-weary vocal delivery weaves through warm electric piano, bass, and a tambourine-forward backbeat. Tracks like “Sun You Swear” and “Low on Love” showcase the trio’s mastery of atmosphere and restraint, while album closer “Deep Depressions” returns to form with an energetic six-minute bop that provides a dynamic counterpoint to the more subdued tracks that precede it.
Today and Tomorrow Too is a strong statement from Matt Smith’s Nervous System, revealing their growth and willingness to experiment. Sure, at its core it’s a rock record, but instead of demanding your attention, the power here lies in rich textures and subtle moments that draw you in and resonate. It’s both a melancholic and strangely comforting new formula that isn’t too far a departure from the material that put Nervous System on the map in the first place. Today and Tomorrow Too is now streaming; you can catch them play these songs live at The Lounge at Revolution Gallery on December 27th.
Categorised in: Album of the Week
This post was written by Ronald Walczyk