The Proclivities represents the best of the indie rock, anti-folk, and thrill-pop genres guaranteed to devastate you with their streamlined eclecticism.

9 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Folk Rock, POP: Folky Pop



Details:
Matt Douglas, the songwriter and frontman for The Proclivities, is a music school trained jazz saxophone and woodwinds player that strayed from the jazz pack and into the world of self-indulgent singer/songwriters. After graduating from NYU, Matt wandered off to Central Europe on a Fulbright Scholarship to study the influence of traditional folk music on contemporary improvised music in Budapest, Hungary. It was at that time that Matt started writing kick-ass rock songs. After two years of escapism, Matt headed to Raleigh, NC where he hooked up with guitar great Chris Boerner (CB4, Mosadi Music), Nic Slaton (Mosadi Music, Only Midnight) and drummer Matt McCaughan (Portastatic, The Rosebuds). They released their first album, "Predispositions", in July of 2006 and recieved rave reviews. Matt Douglas and The Proclivities have been seen onstage with the likes of Josh Ritter, Bobby Bare, Jr., The Old Ceremony, and more.
Matt just finished this soundtrack of Proclivities music for an independent film called "Coney Island", which will be released in the Spring of 2007 by Blackwater Films, written and directed by Ramen Cromwell.

"On his debut album, Predispositions, singer/songwriter Matt Douglas strays from his jazz roots to wander into the world of folky pop-rock, creating an album full of reflections and observations on hell, happiness and women. Douglas finds his voice, a warm and warbly alto, functioning as its own spiritual soothsayer, taking life lessons of failed relationships, unrequited love and the higher art of understanding God and turning them into open-ended lyrical sermons of inspiration.

But don't be fooled: Douglas is not a champion of romanticized hope. In fact, his songs carry a pragmatic philosophy, relying heavily on his reality and eschewing his illusions. On "Second Floor," Douglas comes to terms with naiveté in romance, singing "I can't be so starry-eyed/ When the stars are loving you" over a sweeping arrangement that, like his voice, flows directly from a tempered shuffle to an emphatic swell. Songs like "Subway Girl," "Pauline" and "Annie" find Douglas on his knees, sorting through the pieces of his broken heart, thinking about second chances and bad timing to acoustic guitars. The gospel-influenced "Your Secret" walks the fine line between a sinner and a saint, sorting out small-town deception and morality over running lines of organs and handclaps.

Douglas isn't overtly optimistic or pessimistic, but he moves with the ebb and flow of his emotion, highlighting the pain and the pleasure through his music. His expert band follows him through those changes like it's their natural bent."

--Katherine Justice, The Independent