My favorite Matthew Melton memory is him kicking in the bathroom door at EKKO (a venue in Utrecht), strolling in like a total rock star, that weirdly shaped guitar slung over his shoulder like it never leaves his side. I had just washed my hands, and witnessed what felt like an absurdistic movie scene. Minutes later, I saw Warm Soda hit the stage, already halfway obsessed. That show made things worse, in the best way.

Side note, this was also the night Add To Wantlist head honcho Dennis beat me to the last limited vinyl copy in a move I still consider morally questionable. The scars remain.

On-topic! I lost track of Melton’s output a bit when Warm Soda went on hiatus and he shifted into Dream Machine, a more psych-leaning project with his then wife Doris. Now he’s back under his own name with a new two-song single on Trust Fund Records, and it feels like a reset in all the right ways. The psych haze is still there in the rearview, but front and center is that vintage garage power pop he does so well. It’s unmistakably Melton, tapping into the spirit of Warm Soda, Bare Wires, and Pleasers without just rerunning the tape.

The A-side Gaining on You kicks in immediately, a classic Melton move, hook and groove arriving at the exact same second. No warm-up, no filler. It sounds effortless, all warm tones and sugar-sweet melody, but there’s real craft tucked underneath. The B-side Something to Give leans a bit rougher, with a touch more bite and a hint of old school psych creeping back in.

A more than solid return from Melton. If this is him getting back in the groove, you’ll want to keep an eye on what comes next.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp