Song of the Day: Mikey and Matty - Second Son

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Morning Show with John Richards, is "Second Son" by Mikey and Matty from the 2013 self-released album Harbor Island.

Mikey and Matty - Second Son (MP3)

Consisting of brothers Mike and Matt Gervais (also of Seattle pop outfit Curtains To You), Mikey and Matty's music combines elements of '70s folk and '90s indie rock to form a slack-but-precise take on indie rock's current folk resurgence. Although they've been working together for their whole lives, the brothers' debut album, Harbor Island, is the result of a year's worth of work. (Save for a handful of guest spots, the brothers played, recorded, produced, and mixed the entire thing.) Although it was recorded just like the rest of the album, - in Mike's bedroom - "Second Son" doesn't carry any sonic or thematic trademarks of isolation; it's a layered gem that unveils its tricks slowly as its mid-tempo burn goes on. As Matt's rich vocals soar over a calm and insistent beat, the instruments blend to form a potent mixture of melodic and textural tones. Warm and inviting, "Second Son" is a demonstration of the potency of a pair of brothers making music together: a cohesive, smooth song that highlights the pair's musical cohesion.

Mikey and Matty are playing an all-ages release show at the Fremont Abbey on May 4th. Get info and tickets for that show here, and keep up with the duo on their Facebook and Soundcloud. Watch the pair play "Second Son" with Charity Rose Thielen below.