As he gets older, Thin Lear’s Matt Longo is finding it harder to keep tabs on the people he cares about.
“I can point to the needs of my own family or everyone generally going in different directions, but those are all just excuses,” says the New Jersey-based singer/songwriter, reflecting on the interpersonal guilt that fueled his latest single. “In my 20s, if someone was really going through it, we’d come together and actively be present to offer something beyond occasional phone calls.”
With “My Old Friend,” Longo has hit on an intriguing intersection of glam rock and indie folk, his Anglophilic vocals sounding remarkably Marc Bolan-esque amid the track’s baroque-pop trappings. Produced by Sam Cohen (Madi Diaz, Kevin Morby), the song continues the slow build to a much-anticipated sophomore LP following Thin Lear’s promising 2020 debut, Wooden Cave, and a pair of more recent EPs. Over that span, Longo has collaborated with Spacebomb label guru Matthew E. White (Hiss Golden Messenger, Mountain Goats) and shared stages with Jesse Malin, Greg Mendez, the Shivers and others.
And that hasn’t left a ton of time for reconnecting and reaching out.“It’s just whatever I can give, and ‘My Old Friend’ reflects that harsh reality,” says Longo. “We had someone who gradually sailed off into a dark place, and not enough of us were paying attention to what was going on before it got bad.”
We’re proud to premiere Thin Lear’s “My Old Friend.” Look for a new album sometime in 2026.
—Hobart Rowland
