Video: Matt Ellis, ‘Thank You Los Angeles’

Kevin Bronson on March 6th, 2015

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DIY roots-rocker Matt Ellis has found a comfortable station in Los Angeles, his home for a decade since departing his native Australia. He calls his fifth full-length “The Great Escape” his “most L.A. album yet,” adding that much of the lyrical content came to him while simply driving around the city. Hence, director Phil Harder’s video for “Thank You Los Angeles.” Of course, experiencing anything from the passenger seat of car is limiting, and the beauty of L.A. rests in the details. Ellis’ vivid Americana, narrated in his rich baritone, delivers on that. The album, which came out in October, was recorded in Tucson, Ariz., with engineers Chris Schultz and Craig Schumacher (Neko Case, Calexico, The Jayhawks), and as the sturdy rockers “On the Horizon” and “Different Man” attest, Ellis has some muscle to counter his balladry.

||| Stream: “On the Horizon”