As an elder emo who based her entire personality on Something to Write Home About & Guilt Show in her youth, I needed no introduction to Matt Pryor. Yesterday, Matt shared his second single from his new solo album, The Salton Sea, entitled “The Dishonesty”.
Alongside the track, he released a video, directed by Josh Berwanger of The Anniversary. Matt shared the following: “This is a song about lying and hurting the people you love when you’re in the throes of addiction. I think Josh really captured the insanity of how that feels”.
The previously released title-track/ lead single from this album earned high praise from industry giants like Alternative Press, Brooklyn Vegan, and Stereogum.
The 10-track, self-produced LP also featured mixing & production assistance from Peter Katis of the National and Interpol. Additionally, the album title carries deep meaning. The Salton Sea is a ‘terminal’ lake in SoCal; a terminal lake never has new water flow into it, and its salinity increases constantly due to evaporation / pollution. This area used to be a popular attraction among the rich and famous in the 50’s and 60’s, but has since transformed into a wasteland. Matt draws comparisons between this and the feelings of being a shadow of your younger self while in active addiction. These feelings mounted in 2022 & 2023, when addiction fully took over, and Matt was able to make the decision to get sober and stay on the right side of the dirt.
Matt says the following: “The story that these songs tell is about that time in my life. Autumn rolling into spring because the winter was a blackout. How the good times were great until one day they weren’t. How I lost myself and hurt people that I care about. How I got help that didn’t stick and how I lost faith in the help that did. That I came out on the other side of the whole ordeal only to realize I am still a work in progress, that we all are”.
The Salton Sea is available for pre-order (in a gorgeous coke bottle green vinyl format) from Nightshoes SyndicateL Matt Pryor – The Salton Sea
The Salton Sea will be released November 14, 2025.
