The third solo album from former Delta Spirit frontman Matthew Logan Vasquez is a collection of murder ballads in his signature southern rock style, self-produced and recorded at his haunted Wimberley, TX home and completed at his new home in Oslo, Norway. After releasing Delta Spirit’s critically acclaimed fourth studio album, Into the Wide, in 2014, Vasquez moved with his wife and newborn son to Austin, Texas and began working on what would become his debut solo outing. The resulting Austin EP, which found Vasquez manning every instrument and offering up a blistering set of outlaw psych rock, arrived in 2015 with his debut long-player, Solicitor Returns, following in early 2016. In April 2017, Vasquez issued the home recorded, yet vibrant sophomore effort, Does What He Wants. The following year saw Vasquez release the EP Texas Murder Ballads. Recorded at home in Austin, it was meant to serve as a teaser for his forthcoming third long-player Light’n Up. Vasquez is also a member of not one but two indie supergroups: Middle Brother, featuring Vasquez, John J. McCauley III of Deer Tick and Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, which released a self-titled debut album in 2011; and Glorietta, featuring Vasquez, Noah Gunderson, Kelsey Wilson, Adrian Quesada, Jason Robert Blum and David Ramirez, which released a self-titled album in 2018. “One year ago, my family moved to Norway ahead of me, while I stayed behind in Wimberley, TX to make an album. It was one of the loneliest months of my life. No family, no cat, just a ghost named Ladonna, and a couple friends here and there to buck me up. There’s a lot in this one about sadness, struggle, and brokenness, but also about love, simplicity, and toughness. I named the album ‘Light’n Up’ because I see a silver lining in my sadness. It feels good to know you’re at the bottom.” – MLV