Fans got a new single, “I Was” from Matt Koziol this morning. The moderately tempoed opening guitar hum sets the tone of a stage curtain, slowly peeling back, revealing a humbled narrator witnessing to the invincible ways of inexperience and youth.

He’s a changed man, likely for a lot of reasons to speculate on, though we catch a glimpse of a potential catalyst through, “I was/waiting on sunrise/over Georgia pine/felt the light peeking out/and you came along.” “I Was” sings a song of personal growth rather than one of simply just love, however, and is reinforced through a contemplative bridge of faded refrain vocals and heavy classic pedal steel guitar.

This release presents a familiar dichotomy to Koziol’s singles over the last several months, which all lean into his new album Last of the Old Dogs to be unleashed on April 5th. Six-string lovers are treated to the blues-heavy “Follow Me Home” and “Which Way to Heaven” to vigilante-esque “You Better Run, Son,” which quite frankly gives that “just got off work, windows down, sweaty breeze” type urgency to go on and git gone.

We also hear Isaac Gibson of 49 Winchester supporting on “Old Fashioned,” which again talks about personal growth but this time in a bit more “upbeat busted-up modern-day fairy-tale style” where dude gets dumped by a city girl, moves to the woods and seems to come back to country roots as a favor to himself, subsequently living happily ever after. It’s an empowered break-up song yet somehow remains light and fun.

Most notably, though, there’s a guest appearance by the legendary Vince Gill on the single, “Ghost in This House,” which is a song nothing short of beautiful and demonstrates that Matt Koziol’s thick guitar strings can be delicately smoothed and slowed yet serve as an unwavering compliment to their haunting vocal partnership.

There’s a lot to look forward to in this new album and is currently available to pre-order, autographed, in both vinyl and CD format. All singles are already streaming on major platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music. Tour/show schedule is regularly announced and updated on his website and Instagram.

My only critique is that there are no Wisconsin shows or festivals to date. (I’m sure Hodag would love to have him, jus’ sayin’.)

Please stay tuned in mid-April for a comprehensive album review of Last of the Old Dogs and, as always, some dorky glamour shots photos of the signed vinyl.