Matt Suggs

Matt Suggs had already recorded four albums during the '90s as one half of the indie pop duo Butterglory when he stepped forward with his first solo project, Golden Days Before They End, in 2000—an effort that registered as a striking debut. His dry, understated vocal approach immediately calls to mind the Kinks' Ray Davies, a resemblance that extends to the melodic yet eccentric songs he writes. Still, Suggs avoids becoming a straightforward Davies copy, favoring a stronger American roots sensibility in his arrangements while favoring a more indirect style of lyricism that deftly employs unsettling imagery and unexpected phrasing.