2024 isn’t quite over but it’s not too early to start thinking about 2025. Fort Worth’s Matthew McNeal, alongside his long-time collaborator Andre Black, tease an album to be released next year with a gem of a song. A sublime melody, the wail of a pedal steel guitar, and McNeal’s plaintive vocals come together to make “Dropped the Ball” hauntingly beautiful.
There’s a quiet despair in the lyrics, an evocative air of resignation. “Dropped the ball but I kept running, whole life with my head down” sings McNeal, “no one can tell me nothing, I’ve heard it all before”.
Says McNeal about the song:
“Dropped The Ball” is a special song for the gang and I.
We had been working on a bunch of new material in the studio and we had a breakthrough with a handful of the songs. Andre (my best friend, drummer, co-writer, and co-conspirator within our indie label Matte Black Sound Company) and I linked up to get some work done, but we ended up sitting down to write this song in one sitting. This one came more naturally and easily than most anything we’ve ever written over the past ten years. Two days later, we went into the studio and tracked it live with the band, then we reached out to the great Matt Kelly (pedal steel player and MD for City and Colour – one of my biggest inspirations) and had him lay down some steel on the song, which really helped the song come to life in a whole new way.
The song encompasses so many beautiful, bittersweet feelings – it’s one that rings true whenever I sing it, no matter what’s going on in my world. The good, the bad, the difficult, the joyful – I feel it all when we play this one.
Twangville is honored to premiere “Dropped the Ball” from Matthew McNeal. Look for a new album from McNeal and company in 2025. If this single is any indication, the album will be something special.
About the author: Mild-mannered corporate executive by day, excitable Twangville denizen by night.