BY: DIGITAL WAX MEDIA STAFF
Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, M Ross Perkins has announced his upcoming full-length LP, What’s the Matter, M Ross? which is expected to hit shelves this May.
The album will mark the return of the Ohio-based musician after three years away, coming on the heels of the warmly received E Pluribus M Ross, released on March 18, 2022, through Colemine Records/Karma Chief.
In keeping with the project’s inquisitive title, the artwork for What’s the Matter, M Ross? features the songwriter donning an almost somber expression, not dissimilar to that featured in the artwork for the preceding E Pluribus M Ross.
The album will also serve as the continuation of a key identifying theme of its predecessor, that being the DIY production approach to the album’s creation. M Ross Perkins himself is said to have written, produced, and performed the album in its entirety on his own from the comfort of his home.
“Throughout writing, recording, while doing vocals and singing, there would be moments, throughout every one of those stages… I would be thinking [about people like] that dude who came up to me in Lexington and told me [that my songs] really helped him,” Perkins said of the recording process for the new project.
“Everything I’m doing while cutting that vocal was channeling [him]..to tell him that everything is going to be all right… I was closing my eyes holding you in my mind while I sang this song knowing that it would do something for you… That dude is going to hear [this album] and have no idea what he’s listening to is literally me singing to him.”
Preceded by lead-single “I Don’t Wanna Be So High,” What’s the Matter, M Ross? looks to reveal to listeners the next step in the evolution of Perkins’ unique pop-rock sound, which takes an approach which can be said to be equal parts traditional and experimental in nature.
The sound specifically has drawn comparisons to the work of musical luminaries such as Harry Nilsson, Jonathan Richman, and Gram Parsons, with the sonic aesthetic purportedly being reminiscent of the seminal work of The Band and the breezy, west coast pop-rock of the late 1960s.
Scheduled for release on May 2, 2025, through the Karma Chief imprint, listeners will be able to get their hand’s on the upcoming album in a variety of formats, including a 100-copy limited edition Colemine Webstore-Exclusive vinyl swirl pressing which will be included in a bundle alongside a songbook signed by the artist himself.
What’s the Matter, M Ross? lead single, “I Don’t Wanna Be So High” is now available to steam through all major platforms.
The tracklist for the new album is as follows:
1. Hey Man/Hey Self
2. Saccade I
3. Gone (In the Morning)
4. Crying in My Sleep
5. Spiritual Kick
6. Saccade II
7. I Feel So Dumb
8. I Don’t Wanna Be So High
9. Saccade III
10. Baby, My Bad
11. A Date for One
12. That’s Fine
13. Bouquet
14. Saccade IV (Plastic in the Face of Mind)
15. Quite Right Kindly
What’s the Matter, M Ross? album artwork – Colemine Records/Karma Chief
Digital Wax 