Video: Matt Hunter & the Dusty Fates Share New Single 'Reindeer Soul'

On Friday, Matt Hunter & The Dusty Fates will release their new album Reindeer Soul on Dromedary Records. In anticipation of Friday’s release date, the band is excited to share the official video for the album’s title track. The video debuted today at Glide Magazine. The track follows pre-release singles “The Narrator” and “Story Of A Supergroup.”

Matt Hunter, reflecting on the song “Reindeer Soul,” shares, "Reindeer Soul, the song, is about how you remember a young crush or romance many years later. The unrequited ones, even though maybe they were never 'completed,' can hold a stronger spell over you than the ones that were -- even if, or maybe especially if, your memory exaggerates the time or person in question. It is partially a true story, partially not. Hindsight is sweet, even if you're half making it up. Some people never learn how to fall out of love."

He adds, “The opening riff happened when my wife and I were riding out the pandemic in a rented house near Cherokee Park in Louisville, KY. I almost threw it away, thinking it didn’t resolve in a way that made any sense. But I kept humming it on my daily walks in the park — which was of course one of the few activities you could do at the time — and the rest of it started to come together. I have no idea where the phrase ‘Reindeer Soul’ came from, but it stuck.”

Matt Hunter & The Dusty Fates will be playing an album release show on Friday, June 7 at the Avalon in Catskill, NY, with Lupo Citta and Of the Atlas to celebrate the album's release. The band also has a show on Saturday, June 8 at Sanger Hall, located at 48-20 Skillman Avenue in Sunnyside, Queens, with special guest Willis Willis.

Matt Hunter & The Dusty Fates formed just before the pandemic, as a vehicle for longtime indie rock musician Matt Hunter to lead a band again. “The idea for the Dusty Fates is that it would be an unstable, constantly changing cast of people, with me as the sole full-time member,” said Hunter. “I love the idea that a band’s dynamic can constantly be in flux, based on whoever’s around, who wants to play at a given time, and who might be best for a particular song. It means that your songs can be completely different every time they’re performed, and you have to be ready for that. I find that thrilling.”

Hunter has a long pedigree in underground rock music. He was a co-founder of Western Massachusetts’ New Radiant Storm King, which put out nine records on many different labels over 20 years. The band toured extensively, playing with bands like Guided By Voices, Grifters, Polvo, Built to Spill, and many others.

Independently, Hunter has played or recorded with J. Mascis & the Fog, Silver Jews, King Missile, the Wharton Tiers Ensemble, and SAVAK, and also is in New York City’s The Whimbrels. His first solo record, New Rotations, was released on Darla several years ago.

For his latest album, and the first one to appear under the “Dusty Fates” moniker, he recruited drummers Roger Murdock (of King Missile) and Hampus Öhman-Frölund. Hunter handled most of the guitar and bass duties, but other friends were brought along to fill various roles – including a number of NYC luminaries.

Reindeer Soul Tracklist

1. Sandcastle Row
2. Morning Light
3. The Narrator
4. Franz
5. Reindeer Soul
6. Night Cat
7. Calumet City
8. Butter And The Batter
9. Weed Garden
10. Take Your Sweet Time
11. Story Of A Supergroup

Photo courtesy of the artist

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