THE LEGAL MATTERS, the acclaimed Michigan indie pop maestros with the new album LOST AT SEA announced and on its way on Vinyl, CD and Streaming in February, bring you one more preview single from the record: “It Doesn't Matter,” out February 20th and up for pre-order and presave now. It's the followup to the first two indie hits from the album, December's “Everybody Knows” and January's “The Message,” and it kicks up the rock factor as the buzz builds for the full-length release.
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Anticipation in the global indie pop community is certainly high for the first album from THE LEGAL MATTERS (ANDY REED, CHRIS RICHARDS and KEITH KLINGENSMITH) in half a decade. The two preview singles released thus far, the soaring ballad “Everybody Knows” and the tensely foreboding “The Message,” have certainly lived up to or even exceeded expectations, and “It Doesn't Matter” follows suit while demonstrating the exciting variety of sounds fans can expect upon LOST AT SEA's February 27 release. This is “the rocker”: Reed calls it “our rockiest tune” while Richards singles it out as “one of the more anthemic tracks we've ever gone for.” Opening with a steady solo drum beat and building layers of bass, guitar, keys and vocals as it unfolds until crashing into a explosion of harmonies and power chords, all before hitting the chorus, it's a real rush of hooks and energy. There's a new wave vibe that recalls The Cars and Split Enz and a dose of '90s guitar power that evokes Fountains Of Wayne, but those unmistakable harmonies couldn't be anyone other than The Legal Matters at their best.
Like all of the tunes on LOST AT SEA, “It Doesn't Matter” came into being via a new and wildly successful experiment in closer collaboration between THE LEGAL MATTERS' core trio, as Richards explains. “Andy played the opening riff/verse concept during a writing session, and we all loved where this little Spoon-inspired riff was going. The next day, I was driving back for the next get-together (roughly a two-hour drive for me) and a chorus popped into my head. So, I did what any normal person would do: reach for my phone while driving and try to record the idea. It worked, and we were able to assemble some guitar parts underneath it to make this elevated chorus.”
Reed agrees: “I had this dancy riff idea that I had been messing around with for a while. It didn’t feel Legal Matters-ish at first, but once Chris had an idea for a chorus, it felt like us. I’m really happy with this one.” The tune having been melded together out of musical concepts from two of the members, Klingensmith stepped in to pen most of the lyrics. And it wouldn't do to leave out the dynamic, bravura drum work from Donny Brown which anchors all of the tracks on LOST AT SEA and especially shines here, as the tight groove that kicks off the tune expands into the pure rock chorus and expertly follows the surging arrangement throughout “It Doesn't Matter.” Taken together with the two prior singles, the new track makes it abundantly clear that, as reliably superb as they've always been, THE LEGAL MATTERS have leveled up once again, and it's only a matter of weeks until the new album makes the case for all to hear: LOST AT SEA is one of the best places to be on the global indie pop ocean this year.