Matthew Dear releases Preacher’s Sigh & Potion: Lost Album (Ghostly International), his first LP since 2018, originally recorded in 2008. Matthew also recently launched “ The Matthew Dear Show ,” a variety series made in collaboration with his wife Jennifer Dear. Across freeform episodes, Dear splices music and visuals with segments of oddball ideas often hosted in the woods near his Michigan home. The series premiered as a program on Seth  Troxler’s  Twitch channel  Dream Access Television and can now be viewed on YouTube.

A shelved release recorded over a decade ago, Preacher’s Sigh … represents a pivot both in Matthew’s thinking and sensibilities. Sonically, the album’s looped guitars and folky swing differ from his techno background. Inspired by Emmylou Harris as well as the fingerpicking guitar style of his own father, Matthew channeled those elements through the patterns and loops he uses for house and techno.

“I’d say that was the beginning of this album,” he says. “Realizing I could apply what I’d been doing in the computer to the other music I loved and grew up with.” Preacher’s Sigh … represents more than just a development in Matthew’s sound – its release also symbolizes a development in how he views his craft overall. “As we age, we get trapped in thinking our output or creativity needs to mature as well,” Matthew shares. “Some of that is unavoidable, but listening to these songs reminds me to not think so much.”