Fire without a spark

"I remember being six-years-old and my dad explaining to me why Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" was such a good lyric. My ear was trained to listen to the words before I learned to listen to the music."

(Matt Jordan /  citylifestyle.com/kirkwood, 2022)

Matt Jordan is still without a record deal and releases his music independently. But that doesn't dampen his productivity or creativity. With the magnificently pulsating, catchy tune 'Yesterday Tonight' about nostalgic memories, he has already released his third song this year by April 11, 2025. Produced once more by Sal Oliveri and co-written with Jarrett Hartness, it's an unspoken invitation to open the car windows and turn up the volume.

Hey, what you say, we meet down memory lane?

We can run that road all night, like nothing's changed.

No we can't rewind or change the hands of time.

But we can make it feel like yesterday tonight.

(Yesterday Tonight / Matt Jordan, Jarrett Hartness)

"Been trying this one out on the road this year and it’s become a band favorite to play live," says Matt Jordan about the song, which not only evokes memories but undoubtedly also carefree summer feelings.

It follows the melancholic ballad about a lost love ('I Could Tell You Why'), which Matt Jordan co-wrote with Rob Pennington and released on March 7, 2025: couldn't tell you when or why I lost my mind, but I could tell you why.

About 5 weeks before, on January 31, 2025, 'Dancing In The Dark' was released. It's a cover-version of Bruce Springsteen's first worldwide hit from 1984, reimagined as a ballad. Springsteen wrote the song in one night after producer Jon Landau pressured him to release a single for his upcoming album. The lyrics to 'Dancing In The Dark' express his frustration at having to write a hit on demand: "There's no fire without a spark."

It's rare to be able to create an alternative version of a song so closely associated with its original artist that sounds distinct yet remains true to its origins. Matt Jordan has achieved just that!

After all, 'Dancing In The Dark' has not only influenced him at an early age through his father, but the song has now also become a fixture in his concerts. Concerts which keep winning new fans, who have by now streamed his music almost 2 million times on Spotify alone. And even though Matt Jordan should have gotten a major record deal long ago, as a fan one can only hope that he will stay true to his musical path despite of not having one and that he continues to inspire with his music.