Matt Kivel, Max Knouse

Matt Kivel at Gold-Diggers

Songwriter Matt Kivel launched his musical path early by establishing the indie outfit Princeton alongside his twin brother Jesse in 2005, building on prior years of joint performances and composition. During the 2000s he remained engaged with Princeton while also handling guitar duties for the garage pop group Gap Dream, before emerging independently in the early 2010s. His solo recordings marked a clear departure from those band roles through a restrained and deliberate songwriting method, evident on refined releases such as the 2016 set Fires on the Plain.

Blues-tinged Americana, aka roots music and/or indie folk, best describes the latest release from L.A.-based singer-songwriter/guitarist Max Knouse. Recorded over two days with drummer Ben Lumsaine and bassist Bailey Zick in a small space located above a Phoenix pizza place, it’s a live-to-tape (or live-to-hard drive) set overseen by producer-engineer Chris Schlarb, with minimal overdubs. The result is a laidback-yet-taut, rustic-yet-refined affair, the kind of album that finds you leaning in to listen regardless of volume.