You might recognize Matthew and the Arrogant Sea for a number of reasons: not only do they have an unusual name, but they’ve been featured on BestNewBands.com under several concert picks that I’ve made in the last few months. I lived in the same small music mecca of Denton, Texas as the sextet for several years,  and yet the first time I actually saw them live or met them in person was last week at South by Southwest. How can one suggest a band that one has never personally seen? For starters, MATAS writes songs that will echo in the far recesses of your mind for an indeterminable amount of time. I stumbled across “Pretty Purple Top Hat“  over a year ago, and it’s still in heavy rotation on my iPod as I can’t quite seem to stop whistling along with the verses in my head. They sound like the result of Michael Stipe doing freak folk, and I was just as charmed by their performance at Barbarella as I was by their insightful responses to my interview questions (see video below). In addition to their performance posted above, you can preview their songs “Jack Russell” and “Elvis” via Soundcloud below.

Matthew and the Arrogant Sea will perform next on April 16th at Dan’s Silverleaf in Denton, along with Jason Lytle of Grandaddy. They will also be releasing “You Can’t Tame a Wild Rabbit” later this spring. MATAS‘ previous album “Family Family Family Meets the Magic Christian” is now available for purchase on iTunes here. For more information on its release, please visit their Facebook page and/or Myspace page.

Jack Russell-Matthew and the Arrogant Sea by Laurel Kathleen

Elvis-Matthew and the Arrogant Sea by Laurel Kathleen