(EDITOR’S NOTES — Mike Santillo — former keyboardist for The Tins who now has a solo project called Matches Laces — will drop his first solo EP on Friday (Aug. 23), released by Admirable Trait Records. Matches Laces also will be playing a record release show Saturday (Aug. 24) at Duende with special guests Addisyn Logan and Adelaide. Doors at 7 p.m. Please read our story below on the ‘Matches Laces’ debut. You can also listen to the first single from the record, ‘Didn’t You Lie to Me,’ HERE. And, pre-order HERE.)
Didn't you lie to me?
And didn't I try?
I kept my word
Didn't you run from me?
And didn't I try?
I kept my word
— Didn’t You Lie to Me (from ‘Matches Laces’ EP)
There is some music that gets made. And then there is some music that needs to be made.
The excellent new synth-driven solo EP by Mike Santillo — former keyboardist and vocalist for the Buffalo indie band The Tins whose new solo project is named ‘Matches Laces’ — seems to be the latter. The self-titled record comes across as a very personal piece of work. So much so, in fact, that you can’t help but get the sense there were things this artist just needed to get off his chest. Thus, in speaking recently with Santillo, who was kind enough to provide 1120 Press time from his busy schedule not only as a musician but co-owner of Mammoth Recording Studio in Buffalo, we felt compelled to ask:
“Were these songs something you had to get out of you?”
“Definitely,” he said. “It's the first whole piece of art that I feel expresses me as a person, as an artist, and yes, that kind of expression is cathartic. I'm not hiding myself in these songs, and it feels good to be creatively out in that way.”
Nothing is masked on ‘Matches Laces,’ as Santillo explores themes ranging from breakups ("Didn't You Lie to Me?"), to death ("One Day I'll Be Lying Dead,”) to coming to terms with the self-realization regarding the way you are perceived by others ("You Got These Compartments,")
Looking for you up and down
Keep yourself in boxes, found
If nobody else is around
How do you call yourself?
— You Got These Compartments (from ‘Matches Laces’)
The EP, Santillo said, is “the first full work I have done outside of the songs I wrote with The Tins. When you are in a band full of songwriters, your personal voice can sometimes get buried. Everything is filtered through the group, and if you are too personal with lyrics, or subject matter, the edges might get sanded off to please the whole band entity. Or you might not even feel comfortable writing for yourself within that group. So, it's very different when I write by myself. In crafting these songs, I tried to push myself to express more clearly the things I think and feel.”
Particularly interesting on ‘Matches Laces’ is its sound. At times, the music exudes an
80’s new-wave vibe. Then, at other times, the EP evokes the thought that if Depeche Mode and M83 ever reproduced, its offspring would be this record. It made us wonder whether there was a conscious aim by Santillo to take the EP in a musical direction that strayed from the music he made with The Tins.
“There are definitely familiar elements in these songs,” he said. “I use the same synthesizer throughout this project that I used with The Tins, and over the past decade with this instrument, I have fallen in love with certain sounds that I continue to work with. On this record, though, I wanted to lean into layering the synthy elements and allowing the songs to breathe a little more with some rambling instrumental parts.”
Santillo’s former bandmate, guitarist Adam Putzer — who now performs as the solo artist, asalone — is featured prominently on ‘Matches Laces,’ playing on five of the EP’s eight tracks.
“I would record all my parts, and get the songs in a mostly finished state, and then email the track over to Adam,” Santillo said. “It was easy because I would just send him the track and let him do whatever he was feeling, and it resulted in some raw and inspired parts that became really essential for the songs.”
Also appearing on the record is Katie Weissman (The End of America, Bird Dog, Wooden Cities) who plays cello on "One Day I'll Be Lying Dead.”
“Her parts are embedded in the track throughout, and create a droney kind of tension underneath everything,” said Santillo. “You can really hear the cello loops on the long outro when other elements drop out.”
One day I'll be lying down on the ground
With my hands up over my dead body
I said not to worry
Now I wanna play your heart strings
—One Day I’ll Be Lying Dead (from ‘Matches Laces)
The song, Santillo said, “explores coming to terms with death, a topic I am constantly interested in, and that I come back to in many of my songs. Nothing new to say here really, but in the song, I remind myself I am going to die, and everyone is going to die, but there's no avoiding it, so what do we want to experience? What do I want the experience of my life to be like? I want to fill it with love, and I don't want to dwell on the anxiety of uncertainty.”
Mixing and mastering ‘Matches Laces’ were Ted Young and Jessica Thompson, respectively, each of whom “brought their own character to these songs,” said Santillo.
“For instance, on ‘Your Bitter Satan,’ Adam does this really cool slide guitar. I had that guitar blended in with a barrage of synth parts, until Ted started mixing the song and pulled my keys way down and left the slide really featured up front,” Santillo said. “At first, I didn't like that my parts were so quiet, but once I got over that, I knew it was the right choice, and now it's probably my favorite thing to listen back to when I hear that song.
“This is a more personal work, more studio built. I think it’s more interesting in the ways the music varies, and sometimes meanders in different directions,” Santillo added, comparing the new record to his previous work. “The collaboration was absolutely essential. In no way did I complete this project on my own.”
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