Matt Harlan Reserves June 24th For Raven Hotel

The 12 guests of Raven Hotel are songs that celebrate the bright sides of dark places. Like a tapestry hung in a flophouse window, they reveal the ordinary splendor of optimism and second chances. In the first three tracks alone we see a glitter-skinned dancer find salvation in a haze of fiddles and exhaust fumes, a drunken troubadour quoting T.S. Eliot to justify his wandering, and an absent father finally teaching his kid drive. Throughout this album, Matt Harlan makes the mundane magical.

With Rich Brotherton (Rita Hosking, Robert Earl Keen) back in the producer’s chair, this collection marks a return to the sonic landscape Harlan introduced with his debut album, Tips & Compliments. And the literary threads that tied his debut to sophomore effort, Bow and Be Simple, continue to twist throughout this third release with stories that travel just as straight to the heart of matters via his characteristic observations and poetic minimalism.

On Raven Hotel Harlan’s voice has gained a smoothness that permeates these songs, easing listeners in to difficult topics like race (“Old Allen Road”) or comforting them through turbulent personal relationships (“We Never Met”). And the arrangements fit like a glove, buoying roadworn, yet hopeful, sentiments with bluegrass elements (“Half Developed Song”) and illuminating the silver linings of barely scraping by with bouncing electric guitars (“The Optimist”).

The recordings are filled with cameos from expert musicians like Mickey Raphael (“Slow Moving Train”) and Floyd Domino (“Burgundy and Blue”) incorporating the signature textures of Harlan’s home state of Texas. His wife, Rachel Jones, brings a familial vibe to the set with her crystalline harmonies (“Old Spanish Moss”) and attention-grabbing lead vocals (“Riding with the Wind”).

As the record shifts from midnight jazz, to roots-rock and undeniably touching folk songs it becomes clear why Harlan was featured with Americana legends Lyle Lovett and Guy Clark in For the Sake of the Song and given awards from American Songwriter and Billboard.