Emma Rae

Matt Lowen’s “Last Year’s Leaves” is an acoustic blend of zen, bluegrass, and americana—it’s the music you hear in the autumn wind as the leaves turn colour; it’s the music the moon makes as it scrapes against the edges of the summer sky; it’s the music of change, of transition, of life as we live it.
A poignant work of lyric & melody, this ephemeral album overflows with an abundance of image & song as it explores the cyclical nature of growth & decay, love & loss, and life & death.
Recorded over the summer of 2014 with Rick Genge at Spiderlodge studio, Last Year’s Leaves “ripened and fell from the vine” with a creative ease in the warm July nights. Each session lasting through two (or sometimes three) bottles of red wine, Matt & Rick worked to emphasize the organic spirit of the music with acoustic instruments and chose to abandon percussion, enabling the songs’ structures and melodies to carry the listener along.
With Rick and his wife, vocalist Lori Paul, providing background vocals, creative conversations, and more than a few good meals, the backdrop was set at the quaint and comfortable home studio nestled deep in the heart of the Fraser river valley. From the hummingbirds buzzing over our heads in the afternoons, to the dogs curled up beneath our feet in the evenings, to the moon shining in through the window as it rose over Mt. Cheam, the record began to reflect the natural setting it was born out of.
A chance trip out of Idaho brought musicians Renee & Jason Homey to Spiderlodge to lay down the fiddle on “Never Goodbye.” With the addition of the fiddle, Rick’s masterful Guitar, Dobro, & Bass playing along with Matt’s work on Piano, Mandolin, Banjo, Harmonica, & Guitar combine to evoke a unique sense of timelessness. There is an old-world spirit that dwells within the music which feels ancient but sounds crisp, clear and contemporary. As dust brushed from an antique clock reveals the brilliant patina beneath it, so Last Year’s Leaves shines like an old soul with a new body.

05 Underpriced Wine

06 Never Goodbye

07 Last Years Leaves

I’m gonna drink until the keg runs dry 
Then I’ll fill my bottle with the tears in my eyes 
The tears in my eyes & the pain in my heart 
Cause I love somebody and it’s tearing me apart 

One for the money and two for the show 
Hey bartender won’t you let that liquor flow 
Three for the girl that’ll never be mine 
Four to be forgiven & the devil makes five 

Cigarettes, Whiskey & Barroom Light 
I’ve been drunk over half my life 
Half my life on an old barstool 
Wishing she didn’t have to be so cruel 

One for the money and two for the show 
Hey bartender won’t you let that liquor flow 
Three for the girl that’ll never be mine 
Four to be forgiven & the devil makes five 

One for the criminal one for the crime 
One for the devil you can keep the lime 
One for the singer and one for the song 
One for the girl I’m counting on 

Rum you’re the very best friend I got 
No matter what I do I can have another shot 
If I had another shot I could make it okay 
It’s a shame that love don’t work that way 

One for the money and two for the show 
Hey bartender won’t you let that liquor flow 
Three for the girl that’ll never be mine 
Four to be forgiven & the devil makes five

The Devil Makes Five

My heart has traveled twenty million miles 
Proved itself through many bitter trials 
Through tears & rage, betrayals & denials 
But all my wounds are mended 
In the shadow of your smile 

So forgive me if I need you like a newborn needs a name 
If I have to stand beside you like an old man with a cane 
And if I love you till the mountains fall & only dust remains 
And if I find you in the afterlife & love you there again 

The melodies of guilt are low & strong 
How could I sing of love when the key was wrong? 
The music of my soul was nearly gone 
But you’re my secret chord, babe 
You’re the chorus to my song 

So forgive me f I need you like a pendant needs a chain 
If I flood your ears with music like a river in the rain 
And if I love you till the sun burns out and nothing more remains 
And if I find you in the afterlife & love you there again 

I’m so sorry 
Please forgive me 
I’ve searched the Universe for you 

So forgive me if I need you like a verse needs a refrain 
If I wrote this pretty song for you & didn’t say your name 
And if I love you when the song ends in the silence that remains 
And if I find you in the afterlife & sing for you again

And The Devil Makes Five

Forgive Me

You said your heart was a graveyard 
It was a real dead end 
A place to bury old lovers 
And remember old friends 
You wanted Love everlasting 
What did you really need? 
To skip the living or the dying 
Or just the pain in between? 

You were young & you were searching 
You were relatively free 
You took confusion for your compass 
You followed it away from me 
You wanted Love to be an ocean 
What did you really need? 
Was it a ship or an anchor 
Or just the chain in between? 

You don’t have to say you’re sorry 
For any little scratch you made 
You wanted Love to be a razor 
You never even held the blade 
Because when somebody cuts me 
I need it to bleed 
I need my heart with my mind babe 
I need the vein in between

The Chain In Between

Playing literate and tuneful folk songs illuminated by a sharp-edged voice and poetic lyrics, Latt Mowen is Matt Lowen, an extraordinary folk singer/songwriter. In his entertaining & charismatic live performances, Latt combines story & song to engage, inspire, and delight his audiences. His unique wit, musical virtuosity, and deep catalogue of original music make for memorable performances that traverse a rich and varied emotional landscape.