I had not heard of this artist before Adam Dawson at Broken Jukebox Media reached out with the opportunity to listen to Better Times before it officially releases on April 17th.  After spending a bunch of enjoyable time on the album’s ten songs I also checked out Payne’s  2025 EP Coyote Howlin Blues.  I would recommend that as a way to introduce yourself to this singer-songwriter as you wait for the album to come out.   My favorite there is “Spiderhouse Blues” but the entire EP is solid.  

The Better Times album leads off with the title track which is a simple yet elegant country tune with a lilting acoustic guitar melody and a spare, earnest vocal.  There is also a wonderfully mournful pedal steel weaving around the arrangement.  The next song “Heartsick” kicks off a double run (which also includes “Down in the Valley”) of country-blues style rompers full of twangy guitars and thumping bass lines.  There are some really cool resonator guitar moments also especially on “Heartsick.”  

The fourth track “Adilena” provides a nice tempo change and is a stripped down tune with a yearning vocal that evokes picturesque imagery as a backdrop to unrealized love.  “Name” is up next (very guitar forward with nice resonator tone giving a very vintage bluegrass edge) and is followed by the introspective “My Father’s Son.”  

The opening melody of the album’s seventh song “Kid” has a great Americana feel to it and adds in a healthy dose of harmonica to fill out the sound.  Stylistically the next track “Silhouette of Branches” is a close cousin to “Kid” and they both have lyrics that cover some pretty deep topics of personal loss and struggle.  

I am always interested in well done “quiet songs,” those that have bare bones arrangements and a subdued tone but still deliver power and meaning in a very graceful way.  “Slip Through Me” is a great example of these qualities in action.  Payne’s vocal track, tinted with nostalgia and accompanied by a stark acoustic guitar, delivers a poignant, introspective message.  It is my favorite on this album.  The final track “Terlingua” is a mellow but moving end cap for this ten song set.  

The songwriting by Payne on this entire album is poetic and straightforward, delivering characters and places that are very vibrant and real.  He has a talent for spelling out the struggles and trials of life, along with a few triumphs, in a way that is very relatable.  The musical arrangements, although not intricate or complicated, are performed very well by the talented musicians (see below) and in a way that brings feeling to every note.   Better Times is a solid collection of raw, heartfelt songs that blend county, bluegrass and a bit of blues to very good effect.  

Vote here to nominate this for my best of 2026 list: 

Other musicians on this are: Marty Muse (pedal steel, resonator), Kevin Smith (bass), James Stevens (harmony vocals, percussion).

Purchase this now at:

https://matthewpayne.bandcamp.com/album/better-times

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Interested in more info on this Artist?

https://www.thisismatthewpayne.net/home

Just a few ideas if you have the time:  purchase music when you can as streaming does not pay much even times a thousand, support and get to know your local community, live well and be a good neighbor 🙂