Wolverhampton's Scott Matthews talks about his new album

The singer/songwriter plans to issue the record in April with a tour following in May. It will include a date at Birmingham’s St Paul’s Church on May 20.

The record is Scott’s simplest to date. For the first time in his five-album career, there’s no band, no lavish production – just Scott. It is a man, a guitar and a song. It sounds simple, doesn’t it? And it is.

Scott’s new record, The Great Untold, is a career-defining masterpiece. The sixth studio album by the Ivor Novello Award-winning singer-songwriter is the one that many have craved: it is a masterclass in honesty, instinct and reflection.

A largely acoustic recording, Scott’s sublime new record features sparse production. Recorded at home and in acoustically resonant rural churches, instrumentation has been jettisoned. His 10-song cycle is the sound of a man comfortable in his own skin, putting his neck on the line with a collection of otherworldly songs.

“I’m still working on it but it’s coming together and the songs are there. The record will be out in spring. I’ve always wanted to record a sparse, stripped back record and finally the time felt right to do that.”

The ghosts of Paul Simon, Tim Buckley, Nick Drake and John Martyn loom large on a collection that ranks alongside work by some of the world’s great singer-songwriters. On his sixth record, Scott has created songs that are breathtaking in their beauty and audacious in their simplicity.

The absence of drums, bass, cello and flute on The Great Untold, however, should not infer that it lacks depth. Far from it. The richness in Scott’s new work comes from subtle playing and mellifluous melodies. He has improved again. He has become a master of his craft; a man who can play like Bert Jansch, sing like an angel and write songs that Joni Mitchell might admire.

In many ways, The Great Untold is the start of a new era for Scott. Since his debut album, Passing Stranger, in 2006, the Wolverhampton-born star of bluesy acoustica has refined his craft. Writing deft and sensitive songs during a trajectory that begin with the ethereal Elusive, The Great Untold marks a new beginning.

The first great arc of his career was completed with his Home duology; a stunning pair of records that reflected on his journey thus far. The Great Untold is the sound of a man moving on. Scott is recently married, soon-to-experience fatherhood and has new hopes and fears, new stories to tell. “After Home Part 2 was finished, I was looking to move forward by marrying harmony with my experiences since the last record. The plan to write an acoustic record has always been there. I take a while over the songs. But in recent years, I’ve been keen to release more records. So I’m setting myself deadlines and working more quickly. Robert Plant once told me I ought to do more – and I took his advice.”

Scott has tested himself as a songwriter. The absence of a band means he is vulnerable and exposed. But, in many ways, it was ever thus. He started as a soloist and is ready to fly alone. It opens new possibilities, a different type of challenge. “It takes me out of my comfort zone and has made me test myself. I’ve pared it down to guitar and vocals. At the beginning, there was nobody else. It’s time to surprise myself. It’s time to go back to my own world. I’ve gone full circle.

“This is how it all began. I would write at home, in Wolverhampton, and I’m doing that again now.”

Lyrically, The Great Untold is a work with poetic intent. “It’s a collection of songs that lots of people will relate to. It’s a real mood-shift of a record. The songs always start from a personal angle, but listeners will hear them in different ways. When I’m writing, I’m almost hearing voices from The Masters and thinking: ‘Would they approve?’”

The point is to make a connection. “I want to move somebody with the power of moods and music. It’s very powerful stuff.”

It is in the right hands. And that’s an apposite description for The Great Untold. It is a record written by a man at the peak of his powers, by a musician able to channel great beauty in songs that reveal the most human of truths.

Scott remains proud of his Black Country heritage and The Great Untold is a record rooted in the region. He has a home studio in his back garden – he calls it the Shedio – and that’s where he disappears with his thoughts.

“Things have changed a lot. Back in the day there was the big record label, the management deal and all sorts of people around us. These days it’s just my wife and I: we make the decisions, I write the songs, we take it on the road.

“I kind of like doing things that way. It gives us more artistic control. It’s been a steep learning curve but there’s a lot to be said for keeping things simple.”

Keeping things simple is precisely what The Great Untold does. And with his demos for the record now complete, it’s shaping up to be the greatest record of his career.

l Scott Matthews is running a Pledge campaign for people who want to pre-order copies of the record and further details are available at www.scottmatthews.uk