Today, singer-songwriter Matthew Barber unveils “Green Tea”, the latest single from his forthcoming album, No Singing Or Dancing, due out on July 22, 2022, with Outside Music. “Green Tea” was written quickly in one backyard sitting on a warm spring day in May of 2020;” shares Barber. “The song’s mellow feel reflects a world that had slowed down from the frenetic bustle of public life. A world in which the changes in the garden that come with the changes in seasons become more apparent and take on more significance. In this world, one can more easily meditate on gratitude – both for heroic acts and simple pleasures – and that’s what this song tries to convey.” Listen here. Barber will celebrate the new EP with summer tour dates, including a handful with labelmate Tami Neilson. Details can be found below and at www.matthewbarber.com.
The recent single “Green Tea” is a meditation on the act of songwriting and a paean to the welcome warmth of spring days, while acknowledging the heroism of front-line workers. The new album also includes the previously released song “Every Time You Cry” – a toe-tapper about the different ways people process grief, and the poignant lead single “Viral“.
Over the past two years, Barber has stepped into a producer role working with Clever Hopes on their debut album Artefact, Ian Lake‘s debut album What It Is, and Noah Reid’s forthcoming album Adjustments.
What’s The Story About No Singing Or Dancing EP?
The title was inspired by the words of a city directive from the spring of 2020 that caught Barber’s eye as he, like many others, scrolled through the endless stream of announcements about unprecedented new social norms and restrictions that a few months earlier would have seemed unimaginable. Seeing the most joyous of public human activities specifically and explicitly banned hit a different emotional note amidst the cacophony of shutdown notices and inspired the song of the same name that anchors the EP and contains its most literal references to the period of 2020 and beyond.
Five of the six songs on No Singing Or Dancing were written in the spring and summer of 2020 and together they represent Barber’s musical and lyrical processing of that time both for him personally and for the world at large. Touching on themes of technology, political polarization, emotional support, sacrifice, solidarity, songwriting, sleep, tea and even epistemology, the songs ring true hearing them for the first time in 2022.
Having attempted various versions of the material in his home studio without feeling like he had achieved the definitive recordings, Barber decided he needed to seek outside help. His goal was to breathe new life into the songs by recording them quickly in a no-frills way – a decision that was influenced by the imminent arrival of Barber’s first child in the early days of 2022. He called on his old friend James McKenty to co-produce and they recorded the songs at McKenty’s garage studio in Peterborough, ON in late 2021.
They put together a crack rhythm section of Jeff Halischuck on drums and Ian McKeown on bass, neither of whom had ever played together, nor had they ever met Barber (guitar and vocals). But the instincts were right as the trio gelled quickly and captured six songs live off the floor to an old Ampex tape machine in two days. Steve O’Connor then elevated things with the addition of his beautifully understated organ, enveloping the sparse arrangements with the swirl of the Leslie speaker.
No Singing Or Dancing is a soulful collection of lyrically-driven songs presented in a direct, unvarnished way. We humbly submit that it is a well-crafted and vital addition to Barber’s vintage-inspired folk-rock oeuvre.
