William Matheny Announces New Album, ‘That Grand, Old Feeling’, and Shares Lead Single

Americana singer-songwriter, William Matheny, has revealed he'll be releasing his eagerly awaited sophomore album, That Grand, Old Feeling, on August 4. Ahead of the project, Matheny is dropping the lead single from the record, ‘Grand Old Feeling’, on Friday, June 2.

Excitingly, Matheny had been teasing new music for a number of weeks. Fans will undoubtedly be celebrating the confirmation that the West Virginia songsmith's follow-up to his acclaimed 2017 album, Strange Constellations, is on the horizon.

The lead single from the new album, ‘Grand Old Feeling’, captures the protagonist's aching pursuit of peace and contentment while out on the road. The track captures William Matheny's trademark lyrical delicacy, with the up-and-coming artist underpinning the overarching feeling of longing with a quiet, refreshing optimism.

Speaking to Holler about ‘Grand Old Feeling’, Matheny explained the inspiration behind the new track, “I’m not really sure what this song is about, but I’ve spent my entire adult life trying to find out. I’ve been looking in rock clubs, dive bars, theatres, hotels, truck stops and nearly any other place that happens to be open at 2am”.

Part of the beauty of ‘Grand Old Feeling’ is the liberating uncertainty that radiates through each lyric, something that emanated from Matheny's own creative process, “Hell, I made this record trying to figure it out. For the non-road dogs out there, I imagine you’ve been looking too, maybe in some different places than me, but I’m sure you’ve been searching all the same. Speaking to you pilgrim to pilgrim, I hope you find it”.

The ‘Grand Old Feeling’ music video captures the parallel strands of intimacy and distance that pervade the song, with William Matheny striding purposefully towards a fence with ‘Good Luck’ spelled out in styrofoam cups, before proceeding to clear them away.

He peels back the layers of meaning behind the striking visuals, “Sometimes I feel like I've spent most of my life waiting for something to begin. No matter how far I may or may not roam, there's always some part of my soul that feels like it's cleaning up the styrofoam cups after the going away party and waving goodbye to people. Perhaps on some level you feel that way too. This video was filmed at Dreamland Pool in Kenova, WV one morning while the sun was still coming up. Dreamland was once the largest pool east of the Mississippi River and had an amphitheater that hosted performers like Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra. I didn't see either of those guys that day. I guess they left a while ago”.

‘Grand Old Feeling’ will appear on Matheny's new album, That Grand, Old Feeling, alongside other previously unheard songs such as ‘Bird Of Youth’, ‘Down At The Hotel Canfield’ and ‘Late Blooming Forever’. The project will be released on August 4.