WATCH: Matthew Heller Channels Ukraine with “NO ABSOLUTES”

New album, Criticism, Judgement, Heartbreak and Peril, out September 20

August 24, 2024August 24, 2024 Ron Hart 0 Comments 2024, Cass McCombs, Elliott Smith, Matthew Heller, Oregon, Portland, Ukraine

Portland, OR, indie pop auteur Matthew Heller returns with his fifth full-length album, entitled Criticism, Judgement, Heartbreak and Peril, due out on September 20th.

Working once again with acclaimed Portland producer David Pollock (CAKE, Wild Ones, Starover Blue), Heller channels his observations on feminism, political gamesmanship and the disillusionment of peaceful protest among other topics through a sound that will remind listeners of Cass McCombs and Elliott Smith.

Rock & Roll Globe is honored to premiere the creative video for the first single off Criticism, Judgement, Heartbreak and Peril, “NO ABSOLUTES.” It’s a song Heller was inspired to pen after spending time immersed in the culture of Ukraine.

Matthew Heller Criticism, Judgement, Heartbreak and Peril, self-released 2024

“I have spent the last two years studying and learning the Ukrainian language and culture, I’ve made friends with some of the most amazing Ukrainian people and I intend to continue working with [them] and helping however I can,” he tells explains. “I am not a soldier or a special forces person, so all I can do is write songs and be friendly, but I think this song, ‘NO ABSOLUTES’ gets the best points across that I wanted to make. Inspired by the testimony of a holocaust survivor and Ukrainian USSR Survivor as well, he said, ‘There are no absolutes, unless you are dead in the ground, or willing to change everything, until then everything’s a little bit louder and little bit quieter, it takes change.’ I hope this song creates a little bit of change, and I hope you love it as much as I do!

“When I came across Ed Merlin Murray’s (@e.merlinmurray) artwork I was blown away by his style and energy! I asked him about his feelings about the war in Ukraine and he said that like me, his wife was also working with Ukrainian refugees and folks. I knew then that we would be great artistic partners in the making of this music video.”

For more information on Matthew Heller and Criticism, Judgement, Heartbreak and Peril, visit him on his Instagram page.