Matthew Sajn – From a Bedroom in East Anglia

Artist: Matthew Sajn
Album: From a Bedroom in East Anglia

Written by: Chiara DiAngelo

You may be familiar with Matt Sajn as the frontman of Niagara’s Northern Primitive. While his band is known for heavier distorted rock and roll (they recently released a split 7” with The Dirty Nil), Sajn’s solo material reveals his hushed, acoustic-folk side. Currently residing in the UK, Sajn’s 7-track album was recorded there, quite simply as the title denotes, in his bedroom in East Anglia. Few of the tracks are longer than two minutes in length, yet the album doesn’t feel rushed. As if you stumbled upon the strains of Sajn strumming on his guitar and stealthily peeked in through his bedroom window, you leave feeling content to have been privy to his private world for those stolen fifteen minutes.

With minimalism to the instruments and the finishings left unadorned, what remains is merely Sajn’s raw and emotive vocals. The fuzzy imperfections in the recordings lend themselves to a sense of realness and meditative brooding that perhaps stems from being across the pond from his friends and family. Highlights of the album include: “Hangman (Part 2),” which is a stripped down lo-fi reprise of Northern Primitive’s “madison pier,” the banjo-infused “Investment,” and “Sap.” The lyrics on this one somehow manage to capture a sense of melancholy longing that gnaws at you through the light-hearted melody. Many records slowly peter out as they near the end but Sajn seems to actually gain strength as the album progresses. His voice takes on an unexpected country-folk twang that is at times reminiscent of Welland native Dan Romano, which is most highly exemplified on last song “She’s Got Yeerks.” While the rest of the album is rooted in a plaintive lament, this minute-long track gives us a brief glimpse at Sajn’s playful side before quickly coming to a close.

With Sajn’s imminent return to Southern Ontario in April, now is a great time to get to know him better. From a Bedroom in East Anglia acts as the first in a singer-songwriter series from Welland label Blacktop Records. Bonus: If you order a physical copy from Blacktop Records, you can choose the option to have yours come with prints of Instagram photos taken by Sajn himself while recording the album. A pretty unique added feature, it’s definitely worth the extra couple of dollars!