Not that I have heard it. But Adam, from Gloryhound, is playing keys (and various other instruments) with El Torpedo at the moment, and he was telling me a bit about what to expect. I'd already seen an interview with Matt where he said they wanted this record to sound more "produced" than the eponymous one. Not so much that he was no longer happy with the first record, just that he was into each record having its own individual sound, and besides you'd expect the band to change some just with the passage of time and some changes in membership. (Jarrett leaving and Jay coming on board means the band now has, in effect, two lead guitarists, and the shift in dynamic is already evident even when they play the older material.) And of course since the first record came out they had an extended period with Rob replacing Brad, and now Adam in the keyboard seat. (Any resemblance to the Grateful Dead and their keyboard problem is purely coincidental. As far as I know Brad and Rob are both still alive!)

Anyway, it seems the upcoming record, Terminal Romance, is going to be much tighter than the previous one, which will be reflected onstage as well, and it's a bit more of a pop sound. Which might have alarmed me eighteen months ago, but after When the Angels Make Contact I confess I would have been disappointed if the new El Torpedo record had ended up being a retread of the old El Torpedo record. I remarked to Adam that given Matt's songwriting, I wasn't concerned about not liking the new one. Adam then told me that the next record is going to be the "songwriter record"--apparently Matt has them planned out in his head the way novelists contemplating a series do with future books.

Which frankly makes me feel even more confident about the whole enterprise. I've said this before but one of the things that makes Matt such an interesting artist to follow is that sense that he's following an actual artistic vision, rather than just trying to figure out how to sell a whole bunch of records. Like, I'm pretty sure he would be pleased if he went ahead and did sell a whole bunch of records, but that never seems to be the primary thing on his mind.

Anyway, sounds exciting. Particularly, of course, for Adam!