From his work with Hands Down Eugene, A Country Gentleman, By Lightning! and more, local songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Matt Moody has slowly but surely made quite a name for himself around these parts. But when his recent single “Name Your Heart” was featured in a sultry Spanish Mercedes-Benz commercial, the East Nashville rock ’n’ roll staple found himself the object of several Europeans’ admiration. And rightfully so. On his brand-new LP,
El Baile de los Muertos — Moody’s first under his own Christian name — he drifts between bouncing, mid-tempo psych-pop numbers like “Party of the Decade” and Stonesy, nostalgic, barroom piano-adorned ballads like “Beast Under Your Bed.” Muertos is like a sonically moody classic-rock cheat, from Bowie bass lines to Beatles melodies. Rather than playing live tonight, songs from
Muertos will play as Moody’s wife, Mandy Peitz-Moody, displays paintings that were inspired by her husband’s music. Her work is made up of mostly playful, representational portraits — colorful scenes of amorous suitors in rustic landscapes and so on. Lovely stuff.
— D. Patrick Rodgers