On the surface, 22-year-old Florida native Matt Hires seems to be the epito… Read Full Bio ↴On the surface, 22-year-old Florida native Matt Hires seems to be the epitome of the sunshine state: bare-footed, artistic, and coolly easy-going. But there’s a lot more to him than meets the eye. As a child, Matt was introduced to different musical genres by his father. It was Matt’s father that passed along his old, handmade acoustic guitar from 1977 to Matt when he was sixteen years old - the same guitar that Matt uses today. A homeschooler, Matt taught himself to play the guitar. During high school, Matt gravitated towards the punk/hardcore scene, which is a far cry from his own introspectively powerful acoustic pop sound. Although he was a hockey player and enjoyed surfing and skateboarding, Matt was self-proclaimed nerd. “I collected tons of Star Wars toys as a young kid, made my own Star Wars movies with them that usually starred my pet hedgehog, Prickles, and wrote my own Star Wars stories - they were pretty bad,” Matt recalls of his early childhood. Though Matt might have outgrown his fascination with Star Wars toys, he never outgrew his love for music. By the time he was seventeen years old, Matt wrote his first song, and began performing in public a year later. Soon thereafter, Matt and a few of his friends decided to start a band, Brer. They recorded two 'chill' albums, The Sun Is Rising EP and Microwavable. “There were ups and downs, band members came and went, but overall it was a great time, and a great experience. We also evolved a lot musically over our fairly short existence, and I grew a lot as a songwriter and musician,” says Matt. Now, as a solo artist, Matt is poised to captivate audiences with his endearing personality, melodic sound, and undeniable talent.

Matt Hires will be coming to Madison, WI.

Out Of The Dark
Matt Hires Lyrics

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I'm burned out and wasted
I'm tired of pacing
I'm busy erasing voices of the dead
Everything changes
And everyone's faceless
I wanna replace this darkness in my head

In a strange strange place, I'm lying on the edge of a star

In these violent days, I only wanna be where you are
Even fools they say... can find a way out of the dark
Of the dark
Help me out of the dark

Have I been a sinner?
A lover, a killer?
Cause the world I've discovered
It feels nothing like my heart
I wanna escape it
Or try to embrace it
I keep re-arranging everything I know

In a strange strange place, I'm lying on the edge of a star
In these violent days, I only wanna be where you are
Even fools they say... can find a way out of the dark
Of the dark
Help me out of the dark

Out... of the dark
Help me out of the dark

Overall Meaning

The song "Out of the Dark" by Matt Hires expresses a deep desire to escape from an inner darkness that seems to have taken hold of his mind. The first stanza describes the exhaustion and weariness the singer feels from pacing back and forth, trying to erase the voices of the dead that keep echoing in his head. The second stanza questions the nature of his own identity, wondering if he has been a sinner, a lover or a killer. The world he finds himself in does not reflect his heart, leading him to either attempt to escape it altogether or find a way to embrace it. The chorus describes a longing for someone or something to help him navigate out of this dark abyss.

The overall mood of the song seems to be one of despair, as the lyrics reflect feelings of confusion, disorientation, and a desperate need for guidance. The repeated refrain 'help me out of the dark' accentuates this feeling of longing for salvation or a way out of one's own mental turmoil. The line "Even fools they say... can find a way out of the dark" seems to allude to the idea that even those who seem to have made foolish mistakes or have been in a dark place in their lives can find a path towards redemption.

Overall, "Out of the Dark" is a poignant expression of the human need for hope when faced with darkness and despair.

Line by Line Meaning

I'm burned out and wasted
I am exhausted and drained.

I'm tired of pacing
I am fed up with being restless and anxious.

I'm busy erasing voices of the dead
I am trying to forget the memories of those who have passed away.

Everything changes
Nothing stays the same.

And everyone's faceless
People are becoming indistinguishable from one another.

I wanna replace this darkness in my head
I want to remove the negativity and despair that cloud my thoughts.

Have I been a sinner?
Am I guilty of any wrongdoing?

A lover, a killer?
Have I been both compassionate and cruel?

Cause the world I've discovered
The reality I have found

It feels nothing like my heart
Does not align with my feelings.