‘Summer’s Coming’ is the track that was always going to serve as the outro to Al Matcott’s debut album. Written from the perspective of Mother Nature, she shares angsty diary entries that give a kiss-off to humanity for all the ways we’ve ignored her, and the pain we’ve inflicted on her. Al Matcott has long-balanced weighty lyrical content with brightened soundbeds, and on the garage-rock-driven ‘Summer’s Coming’ this is realised through driving guitars, synths, and shared vocals with Kate ‘Babyshakes’ Dillon (Full Moon Flower Band). Al Matcott says, “I knew I wanted this song to close the album. The outro is supposed to sound like driving down a highway into the sunset but the sunset is all shades of despair and mourning. If I was gonna have a song where the character is Mother Nature, I knew I wanted a woman to sing on it with me. Kate has so much versatility, so many shades, attitudes and personas she can adopt. Like Alison Mosshart or Bob Dylan. I was pumped when she said she’d be down to do the track.”

‘Summer’s Coming’ is released with a video directed and edited by Wild Rose Pictures, featuring Al Matcott, his band, and a ‘69 Camaro. Created with a mixture of both colour Super 8 film and black and white, which they hand-developed using ingredients from the earth instead of chemicals, they riffed on the “keep the engine humming, heading over the cliff” lyric to introduce the car as its main character à la Natural Born Killer or Wild At Heart, toying with the juxtaposition of the natural and industrial.

Summer’s Coming was written over two years and recorded under the watchful eye of producer Wade Keighran (The Scare, Wolf & Cub, Elvis - music supervisor) between Head Gap Studios in Naarm/Melbourne, Golden Retriever Studios in Eora/Sydney and The Tender Joint in Colomatta/the Blue Mountains. It was a period of many firsts for Al Matcott: his first time working with a producer; his first time recording in an established studio; and his first time collaborating with his live band - Brendan West (he/him; bass), Miranda Holt (she/her; drums) and Steve McLennan (he/him; guitar).

Finding inspiration in classical literature, philosophy, poetry, and bands like Interpol and A Place To Bury Strangers, Al Matcott adopts a series of characters throughout Summer’s Coming to tell stories punctuated with his masterful songwriting craft: caterwauling guitars, a blistering rhythm section and a dark, despairing mood. His engrossing lyricism focuses on the encroaching climate crisis - “It’s what keeps me up at night. What is happening to mother earth should be viewed as an act of violence.” he firmly states - and delves into daily tensions that many of us face: the unrelentingly addictive design of social media, being held hostage by your own mind and turning to meditation, and continually pulling that same irritating-as-all-hell tarot card that holds a mirror to the ugliest parts of yourself. It’s a journey of a record, one that sees Al Matcott’s celebrated songwriting reach scorching new heights.

Formerly a drummer, guitarist and singer in a number of bands including Euphoriacs, Honey Badgers and Buried Feather, AL MATCOTT made his solo debut in 2021 with the release of the four-track EP You Can Be Anyone and quickly followed with a string of singles in 2022 including ‘Crystal Ball’ and ‘Sophia’. His releases saw swift support from CLASH, The Indie Scene, Radio X (UK), Triple R, Double J, Pilerats and many others, all praising his strong storytelling and delicate balance of the dark and the light across expertly written songs. Al Matcott is a firm staple of Naarm/Melbourne’s live music scene, having played over 30 shows in the last 12 months including Boogie and Leaps and Bounds Festivals, and shows with Flyying Colours, Bad Habits and more.