Our first real introduction to Matt Koziol came earlier this year at a showcase prior to his first appearance at Europe’s largest country music festival where he performed at C2C: Country to Country in London. What we first took from the New Jersey native was that he had stories to tell and had a real ability to deliver these stories through honest songwriting, a big voice and an even bigger personality as he shared material from his new album “Last of the Old Dogs”.
The thirteen track sophomore record, which is released today comes nearly two years after his debut offering “Wildhorse” once again sees Jars of Clay guitarist Matthew Odmark as producer and really showcases Koziol’s powerful vocals along with his prowess as a songwriter which sees him being involved in penning all eleven of the album’s original tracks.
From the showcase, the song that stood out and was most memorable was the album’s title track which he introduced by stating how he was happily about to ruin your day with his song about Grace who was a family pet that had passed away and was the “Last of the Old Dogs” which pulls at the heartstrings and jerks tears equally as much in the studio version. Throughout the album you hear blues rock and a soulful sound with both uplifting and poignant melodies that you don’t just listen to all the way through but you go through again and again with not a filler song in sight. “Better Side of Lonely”, “You Better Run, Son” and the albums opener “Which Way to Heaven” are memorable toe-tapping blues numbers whilst more poignant songs like “The Fire” and “Uphill Battle” are more reflective and deeper.
The album features a pair of collaborations where firstly Koziol is joined by multiple Grammy winner Vince Gill in recording a raw and stunning rendition of Shenandoah’s “Ghost In This House” before 49 Winchester frontman Isaac Gibson brings his magic to the project’s highlight “Old Fashioned” to create a really fun soulful, blues rock song where two of the most dynamic male voices come together perfectly.
Closing out the record is his version of “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” which was penned by Fred Rose and originally made famous by Willie Nelson’s rendition in 1975, that really highlights more than any other track how Koziol has a voice that can really make you stop in your tracks and not only is a fitting tribute to country music’s most famous outlaw but brings focus to a new audience on a song of true beauty written in the forties. Matt Koziol was one of the artists you heard time and time again as being a musical discovery and someone that people instantly became a fan of during last months C2C festival, then “Last of the Old Dogs” is released at the perfect time to build on this new found popularity over here and hopefully look to enhance plans to return and tour the record properly. It is thirteen tracks that tell tales of former family pets, reflect on past relationships and throw in a couple of outlaw anthems spanning the musical spectrums of country, rock and blues that depict how life experiences make you who you are and how the personal growth from them can be truly triumphant.
Last of the Old Dogs Track Listing (Produced by Matthew Odmark):
Which Way to Heaven (Matt Koziol & Reyna Roberts)
Better Side of Lonely (Koziol, Ava Suppelsa & Khal Yassein)
Last of the Old Dogs (Koziol, Steve Moakler & Andy Skibb)
The Fire (Koziol, John Stanislawski &Tristan Bushman)
Mine (Koziol & Carlton Anderson)
Ghost In This House [Feat. Vince Gill] (Hugh Prestwood)
Follow Me Home (Koziol & Gus Seyfertt)
I Was (Koziol & Kenton Bryant)
You Better Run, Son (Koziol & Brandon Moore)
Letting You Go Again (Koziol, Jenn Schott & Danny Rader)
Old Fashioned [Feat. Isaac Gibson] (Koziol, Moakler & Brett Truitt)
Uphill Battle (Koziol)
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain (Fred Rose)
The new album “Last of the Old Dogs” from Matt Koziol is out now via RED Creative Group and available HERE.
You can find all of Matt’s future tour dates on his WEBSITE and keep up to date with all that he is up to by checking him out on INSTAGRAMTIKTOKTWITTER & FACEBOOK.