Upcoming debut album “Terminal Cases” takes song
titles and themes – “aging, divorce, and growing up – or not” from late actor’s
film catalog.
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Matt Bennett as photographed by Robyn Von Swank
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WNYC’s John
Schaefer on “Fisher
King” by Matt Bennett
“Suggests that the lessons of Lou Reed’s Berlin did not go unnoticed: the
lyrics are simple and affecting, lovely but tinged with regret, and the
electric guitars are graceful and melodic… except for when they explode into Velvet Underground/My Bloody Valentine violence, and Bennett’s voice takes on a desperate edge. Dark beauty indeed.”
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Matt Bennett is best-known as a comedic actor who co-starred on
the Nickelodeon series “Victorious,” which aired on the
network for four years and continues in re-runs. Bennett
is also a musician and songwriter whose debut album Terminal Cases is scheduled
for release on June 10th. Produced by Jim Greer (Foster The People),
Terminal
Cases is a concept album about Bennett’s
parent’s divorce, taking stylistic cues from Lou Reed’s Berlin, and lyrical inspiration
(including its song titles) from the films of Robin Williams that Bennett
obsessed over as a youth.
“I first got the idea for Terminal Cases one
afternoon while watching the movie ‘Jumanji,’
Bennett recalls. I wrote a song based around it that told the
story of a man revisiting his childhood home and not recognizing any of his
surroundings. I decided to structure the
project around the album Berlin by Lou Reed,” Bennett
explains. “I had been fascinated by Berlin
since I was in high school, especially the song ‘The Kids.’
Bennett then spent the next year watching and re-watching Robin Williams films, writing and
re-writing. And in his viewings he
noticed that in Williams’ movies,
there is often a character named Jack
(see: “Jack,” “Hook,” “Fisher King”),
and that the films often deal with aging – either too slowly, too quickly, or
with the reticence of a man child to “grow up.” They also often dealt with
divorce.
“That last realization came at a crucial time for me,”
Bennett explains. “My parents had just announced their plans to
divorce.” Around the same time, Bennett’s dream job on “Victorious” ended. “With no job and
very little structure to my days, my life seemed directionless,” he recalls. Bennett
worked on Terminal Cases every night for nearly two years with the
intention of somehow getting it into Robin
Williams’ hands, and he had most of it written when the legendary actor
unexpectedly and tragically passed in 2014.
“There’s no way
I can release this album now,” Bennett
thought. “It’s dark and strange and
completely wrong.” Bennett sat on the material for much of the following year. “But there was something in these songs that
lingered with me,” he recalls. “I needed to get them out of my head, and completing
this album has been very therapeutic for me. It was a great experiment to write
these songs, to record them, and now to release them.”
Terminal
Cases by Matt Bennett arrives on June
10th, 2016. Matt Bennett is available for
interviews. Contact
Josh Bloom at
Fanatic for more information.
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Matt Bennett is a comedic actor and musician best known as a
co-star of the Nickelodeon series “Victorious” and recently seen in the
festival circuit hit film “Me and Earl
and the Dying Girl.” He recently appeared as a guest star on the hit show “The Big Bang Theory” and can also be
found hosting his monthly variety show “This
Show Is Your Show” at The Nerdist Showroom
at Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles.
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Matt Bennett – Terminal Cases
(Fanatic Records – June 10th)
Track Listing:
02. Moscow
03. Jumanji
04. Hook Pt.1
05. Birdcage
06. Bicentennial
07. Hook Pt. 2
08. Doubtfire
09. What Dreams May Come
10. Garp (Terminal Cases)
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Matt Bennett Links
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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion
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