With his grounded folk-rock sound and introspective lyrics, Jonah Kagen has always made connection a priority. He sings about what is on his mind, whether it’s the struggle to fight temptation or the burning memory of young love. Jonah also emotes through his music, using the raw acoustics of the guitar to set the mood or the sentimental swells of strings to stir up forgotten feelings. This connection is key to what he does as an artist, which is why Jonah recently announced that he will be moving into an Airstream and driving across the country in an effort to meet the fans and artists out there who make what he does so possible. Along the way, he might be turning up the volume on his new single “Matches,” which he shares with us today.
On “Matches,” Jonah questions his purpose and what it is that makes him feel alive. He opens with, “I don’t know what I’m looking for, but I swear to God I’ll find it,” establishing the pensive vibe of the track. There is a darkness that is swirling underneath these distressed lines, brought out by the lilting guitar melodies and the lukewarm tone of Jonah’s voice. He continues, “Maybe smoking one more cigarette won’t turn your lungs to ashes / But all it takes is gas to burn a city down with matches,” letting some of his troubled thoughts get the best of him. Will he come across what he wants? Find out below.
About “Matches,” Jonah shares that the song is
“the first of a set of songs that dive into some of the existential questions that weigh on me at this point in my life and their correlation to my constant search for purpose and identity. It’s about the destructive consequences of letting something small build into something detrimental.”
You can listen to “Matches” on platforms like Spotify, SoundCloud, and Apple Music.
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