Matt Urmy - Out Of The Ashes (2017)

Matt Urmy's new album 'Out Of The Ashes,' out March 31st, is a giant leap forward for the Nashville storyteller who has harnessed his weathered singing and old-school country and folk storytelling. Mary Gauthier calls Urmy "a rare poet and visionary," and Country Standard Time says Urmy "has one of those old souls that you read about, and a big ol' humanist heart a la John Prine."

'Out Of The Ashes' was co-produced by the late "Cowboy" Jack Clement, the Nashville legend who helped pioneer rock 'n' roll at Sun Studios. The album was one of the last Cowboy sang on, and it was almost never completed. Urmy met Cowboy in 2010 when he cold-called his idol asking him to be his headliner at his 3rd & Lindsley show in Nashville. Cowboy agreed to perform at the show, and the next morning he invited Urmy to his legendary home studio, The Cowboy Arms Hotel & Recording Spa, and asked if he wanted to record an album.

A few months later, the album was nearly complete with the final overdubs and mixing when disaster struck - an electrical fire burned down Cowboy's home and destroying almost everything. The album was believed to be lost, and the two parted ways, thankful for their time together and ready to move on. But then a year later, Cowboy's engineer called Urmy with some amazing news: the raw files were saved, and the tracks could be rebuilt. Urmy and Cowboy went back to work and finished the album and included a new song, the aptly titled name of the album, which Urmy wrote for Cowboy after the fire.

Urmy's songwriting covers much ground, from protesting the status quo ("I'm Gone"), despair ("Renaissance Rodeo"), and the daily grind of life ("Gotta Be True"), to celebrating love ("Have You Seen Time"), grace ("Cup Of Grace"), and the simple, quietly profound moments of life ("Time Moves On"). Urmy also offers insight into rituals of leaving ("Easy Train") and renewal ("New Year Mornin'"). "We Must Believe In Magic," originally written by Allen Reynolds and Bob McDill, takes on new meaning as Urmy added the song after the fire. And the title track album closer was written for Cowboy after the fire and features a duet from the legendary John Prine.

TRACKLIST

01. Gotta Be True
02. Have You Seen Time
03. I'm Gone
04. Easy Train
05. Renaissance Rodeo
06. Cup Of Grace
07. Time Moves On
08. New Year Mornin'
09. We Must Believe In Magic
10. Out Of The Ashes