And On was the first song written by Matthew for his solo synthpop project XOR, conceived at a time when his band, Secret Shame, had to cancel several tours in support of their debut album, Dark Synthetics, due to Covid-related precautions and restrictions. That mandatory recess for Secret Shame became the opportunity for Matthew to shut himself away in his basement studio situated on a mountainside on the outskirts of Asheville, North Carolina.
And On is the final single ahead of the release of XOR's self-titled debut, and the album's opening number. As a product of quarantine, the song channels the wistfulness of last year's downtime and the fast progression of contemporary dark times, ranging from discontent to despair.
“For a while, I was just like, ‘The world is collapsing around me! I’m going to prepare for it and go off the grid,’” Matthew recalls. “And then it wasn’t? I was like, ‘Alright, time to get that 9-to-5 job, get that mortgage, get my shit together.’ And as I’m doing that, it feels like the world is actually collapsing around me.” Instead, he goes on to focus on a kind of art which requires a lot of spontaneity, as well as expertise in analog synths.
The entirety of XOR releases on July 30th, 2021.
Artist photo by Mica Rage