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The work of Eric Matthews was a direct reaction to the lo-fi recording practices so prevalent throughout the alternative music scene of the 1990s; while many of the decade's artists trafficked in a defiantly ragged, do-it-yourself aesthetic, Matthews' records grew out of orchestral theories and practices, and revelled in the stately elegance of warm harmonies and lush arrangements. A native of Gresham, OR, Matthews was born in 1969 and fell in love with the symphonic pop of the Beach Boys, Burt Bacharach, and the Bee Gees at an early age; John Williams' score for Star Wars steered him into orchestral music, and he picked up his first instrument, the trumpet, while in elementary school. After attending a San Francisco conservatory to hone his craft, he moved to the Boston area to further pursue his songwriting and performing. There he met Sebadoh's Lou Barlow and Bob Fay, and under the name Belt Buckle, they teamed for a four-song EP in 1993. Through Fay, Matthews also struck up a frie...