On their forthcoming debut LP Honor System, West Palm Beach, Florida-based indie rock band American Sigh deftly layers beguiling indie-pop over complex post-rock melodic arrangements.  Following this along the instrumentals are the delicate, yearning vocals of Theo Matz, which flow harmoniously together.  Today American Sigh shares a live performance of one of their more dreamy, melancholy tracks coming off Honor System, “Space and Time.”

“Ben (Henry) came to me with a lot of this song fleshed out on guitar, I added my own fingerpicking, then the lyrics came fast,” Matz says. “I wanted a song about longing and something that fit the gentle nature of the instrumental. When we went to record it we tried to keep it very bare bones. The song was recorded live with very few overdubs.

For the live version at Echo Beach, we tried to incorporate all the additional instruments and I was really happy with how we performed it, you could definitely feel the specialness of the performance and we had an awesome crew that nailed the audio and video.”

While each song on the record stands as its own perfect snapshot of a moment in the life of someone learning to navigate their way into adulthood, there is an undeniable cohesion to Honor System. “These songs all kind of chronicle my thoughts and feelings through my early 20s” explains Matz. “You could probably interpret the songs in lots of ways. I personally see the record as a statement on what it means to be a good person, and how people navigate relationships. There really is no manual and we are all stumbling on our way to be the best version of ourselves.”

Written by Matz mostly at home in Florida, the album was recorded with Pitts and Mondell at Shade Tree Studio in Boynton Beach, FL and with Bryan Lamar at Raincat Recordings in Jensen Beach, FL. A record that speaks to the universal challenges of growing up, Honor System is there to remind us that we’re not alone in our struggles with self-esteem, relationships, and mental health. “I hope these songs resonate, and that it brings a sense of comfort to listeners,” says Matz. “I set out to make a record that is introspective, honest, and cathartic; both musically and lyrically. I hope it finds those folks who need it.”

Photo Courtesy: Margaret Wheatley