Matt Pryor Confirms New Solo Album (‘The Salton Sea’)

Kansas City native Matt Pryor (The Get Up Kids) has announced he will be releasing his seventh solo album this November. Titled ‘The Salton Sea,’ the record will be released on 14th November via Big Scary Monsters.

As heard on the title track below, the album sees Pryor expand to a full band sound, complementing his familiar warm vocals. The track is described as a “yearning anthem,” and an entry point to what ‘The Salton Sea’ has to offer.

Having experienced an alcohol-induced downward spiral in recent years, ‘The Salton Sea’s allows Pryor to reflect on a difficult period of his life. Commenting on how the album’s ten tracks came to be, Pryor shares, “Three years ago I was in the darkest place of my li,fe and this song really reflects that time. I was lost, alone, and felt forgotten–I just wanted to disappear. I started writing stories about that time in my life, and those stories became songs, and those songs became ‘The Salton Sea’.”

Its title comes from a lake in Southern California, known as the “terminal” lake. Fresh water never flows into it, and the saltiness of the water increases due to evaporation and pollution.  It was once a tourist attraction, but is now considered a wasteland. Metaphorically, it’s how Pryor felt during his struggles. In turn, it allows him to write a set of introspective and personal songs.

“The story that these songs tell is about that time in my life,” notes Pryor. “Autumn rolling into spring because the winter was a blackout. How the good times were great until one day they weren’t. How I lost myself and hurt people that I care about. How I got help that didn’t stick and how I lost faith in the help that did. That I came out on the other side of the whole ordeal only to realise I am still a work in progress, that we all are.”

The aforementioned title track sees Pryor hone in on a sound made of shimmering guitars, big drums, and cathartic words.