Cult Comedy and Acid Folk — Meet Matt Berry

Like many Americans, I first discovered Matt Berry through his television work, on such hilarious cult favorite Brit-coms as “The Mighty Boosh”, “The IT Crowd” and “Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace”. But when I learned he made music as well, I immediately tracked his records down.

Both 2008’s “Opium” and 2011’s “Witchazel” quickly became favorites of mine, with their grand pop structures & unusual, progressive rock-inspired touches.

His latest album, “Kill the Wolf”, continues the trend, with an acid-folk strain added to the mix, so I was excited to help introduce it to the KCRW audience by featuring it as one of this week’s Album Preview selections (available through Monday, July 29).

And Berry was gracious enough to take time out to chat with me about the new record and other things as well, such his unexpected appearance at the closing ceremonies of last year’s London Olympics.

You can check out our conversation here, then listen to “Kill the Wolf” in its entirety on the KCRW Album Preview page to learn about one of the UK’s most interesting talents & best-kept secrets!

ERIC J. LAWRENCE