Exclusive video premiere of ‘When You Were Around’ by American Sigh, taken from the latest album, ‘Virtue Signal.’

The new American Sigh record, ‘Virtue Signal,’ captures a time of transition. Songwriter Theo Matz, originally from West Palm Beach, reflects on a world grappling with lost faith and finding hope amidst nihilism. Blending indie folk, second-wave emo, and melodic intricacies, the album showcases Matz’s evolution, built on strong acoustic foundations.

Unlike their debut ‘Honor System,’ ‘Virtue Signal’ was written in isolation during the pandemic. Influenced by his deep love of folk, Matz crafted the album in Los Angeles, with production by Derek Ted and Sage Duvall. Despite its heavy themes, ‘Virtue Signal’ remains optimistic, advocating for collective action and a better future.

“Today, we are premiering the video for the track ‘When You Were Around,’ on which he comments, ‘This song, to me, is about how hard it is to say goodbye to someone. There can be a lot of conflicting feelings of sadness, bitterness, and well-wishes that cloud the good memories. There’s something about becoming attached to people, even though we know all relationships are impermanent. There’s usually someone else who can fill those gaps without having to look too far.'”

A lifelong fan of folk music, Matz devoted countless hours to studying both finger picking and banjo, which in turn spurred much of ‘Virtue Signal.’ “I’ve always written more stripped back acoustic songs but struggled to find the best way to produce and arrange them” says Matz. After working with Derek Ted for my last EP I was comfortable to bring a lot of them into this session. I actually had to make a few of the songs a bit more upbeat to balance the album out.”

Headline photo: Theo Matz

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