For the Birds. New music by Matt Lenny & The Breakdown.

Have you felt it? You’ve felt it. That excitement when a door opens on a room you’ve dreamt of but never seen. That charge, that crackle, the sweet hurt of life as it cuts you. That’s this album.

Matt Lenny got lost in guitar as a kid. Kept him sane. Sort of saved him. He’s made albums

For the Birds. New music by Matt Lenny & The Breakdown.

Have you felt it? You’ve felt it. That excitement when a door opens on a room you’ve dreamt of but never seen. That charge, that crackle, the sweet hurt of life as it cuts you. That’s this album.

Matt Lenny got lost in guitar as a kid. Kept him sane. Sort of saved him. He’s made albums before, loud ones, soft ones, rock and country and blues, but none like this.

He blew out his voice last year. Had to learn to sing again. Spent time writing. Hearing new tunes. Dreaming of the room where he and The Breakdown could not just play the songs but bring them to life. What does coming to life sound like? This.

The Breakdown is scattered all over these days: they have separate lives in Chicago and Michigan and out East, but they came together for three days to follow a path to a sound Matt only faintly heard.

Three days means no time for doubt. Fewer hours placing mikes and turning dials and punching vocal lines and perfecting perfect: more time fast tracking and finger picking and letting the music lead.

This is the sound of a band of brothers cutting through new terrain. Learning the path through songs while playing the songs. The sound of doors opening to new rooms and the joy of filling all that new space. The good life as it’s celebrated and lived. As familiar but rare as the shape birds trace in the air. -Bryan VanDyke, NYC, Fall 2022

Matt Lenny & the Breakdown is:

Matt Lenny - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar Dave Méndez - Electric Guitar, Dobro, Vocals David Jamison - Drums, Vocals Erik Vaveris - Bass, Vocals Bryan Trenis - Piano, Hammond, Rhodes, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals Bucky Hayes - Acoustic Guitar, Vocals Sonny Ratcliff - Banjo Anthony Gravino - Percussion, Guitar Kait Rose - Vocals on tracks 2 & 4 Laura Neuroth - Vocals on track 5

All songs written by Matt Lenny and published by Harmon Street Songs, ASCAP Recorded by J Kaufman at Local Legend Recording Additional recording by Matt Lenny, Bryan Trenis, and Anthony Gravino Mixed and mastered by Anthony Gravino at High Cross Sound Produced by Matt Lenny with big assists from Josh and Anthony Graphic design by Dan Spielman, Cover photo by Joshua Woroniecki This album is dedicated to Laura, Archer, and Bowie. Thanks for giving me the space, time, and support I needed to create these songs. Thanks beyond words to my amazing band for making them a reality, and to their loved ones for letting me steal them away for a long weekend. Thanks to Jim Carson for giving me back my voice. - ML

The creation of this album was a lifeline and an outlet for all 4 of us during this past, unprecedented year. Unlike our normal process of rehearsals and studio time as a group, 5 of these 6 tunes were written, arranged, and recorded without us all ever being in the same room together. There are a lot of days when I hate what the internet and

The creation of this album was a lifeline and an outlet for all 4 of us during this past, unprecedented year. Unlike our normal process of rehearsals and studio time as a group, 5 of these 6 tunes were written, arranged, and recorded without us all ever being in the same room together. There are a lot of days when I hate what the internet and computers have done to our society, but it's truly amazing that we were able to make a record like this in our homes.

If you've been taking this pandemic seriously, you can probably relate to the sense of isolation and the almost palpable nostalgia for simple gatherings and good times gone past. This EP is, in some senses, our "quarantunes" EP, but it's also a meditation on human connection: the ways a simple friendship can make all the difference, the ways we're too afraid to pursue it, the ways we fail each other completely.

Finally, we want to dedicate the last track, "Fountain of Youth" to the one and only Mark "Mouse" Brunner. Mouse was a friend of the band, an incredible musician, and a fabulous recording engineer with a spirit and a sense of humor that uplifted anyone around him. We recorded this song in his studio back in 2014 and just never got around to releasing it properly.

Recording your own music is sorta like giving yourself a haircut: you never quite have a clear perspective on what you're doing. We'd all gathered at Mouse's studio, gotten sounds, and were all set to record. We counted off and did one take of "Fountain of Youth". We got done and I remember saying, "I think we can do better than that." Mouse laughed out loud and yelled out, "You're f**king crazy! There is no possible way you can rock harder than that!"

Reader, he was correct. We did a few more takes and none of them had the spirit of that first take. I hope I've done it justice in the final mix, but we were all together in a place and time. In one room. Making music and making fun of each other. No masks, no real cares for a few hours. Making something uniquely human and never to be repeated exactly the same again. Hanging out. Rocking out. (A silly thing on paper, but it sure as hell has meant a lot to my life.)

Moments like that sure do feel far away right now, but we'll get there again. It'll never be exactly the same, but what ever is?

R.I.P., Mouse. This one's for you and for anyone and everyone else missing someone or something they love. Laptops and phones are great, but all these "Little TVs" don't quite make up for the real thing...

Matt Lenny - Vocals, Guitar Dave Mendez - Guitar, Vocals Erik Vaveris - Bass David Jamison - Drums, Vocals Sam Drazin - Keys on Track 6

All songs written by Matt Lenny. Tracks 1-5 recorded at home by the band and mixed by Matt Lenny (with an assist from Erik). Track 6 recorded by Mark "Mouse" Brunner at Reelsounds and mixed by Matt Lenny. All songs mastered by Nathan James at Vault Mastering.

Cover art by Zerobird.