Matt C. White is no stranger to southern rock bangers and hard-driving riffs, but with his latest single “The Way Down,” released March 28, 2025, the Wilmington-based genre-hopper ditches the open highway for a cosmic spiral staircase—and he doesn’t miss a beat doing it. As the first single from his upcoming full-length album A Cosmic Year, this track is a mind-bending dive into fuzzed-out psychedelia, rich with groove and soaked in dread, but somehow still smooth as molasses.
“The Way Down” opens like a meteor hitting the earth—loud, chaotic, and captivating. A bombastic psych-rock drum ensemble kicks things off with primal intensity, crashing like a thunderstorm in slow motion. But just as you brace for more chaos, the track finds its groove—warm, analog, and hypnotic. There’s something oddly comforting in the slow descent White crafts here, a sonic balancing act that merges the frantic with the familiar.
The guitar tone is sticky and vintage, dripping in fuzz and crackle, while strange synths and lo-fi keyboard squiggles flutter around like fireflies in the dark. If White’s earlier material planted him in the gritty soil of Americana and southern rock, “The Way Down” rips him free and hurls him through a time-warp filter straight to a 1969 basement jam session. It’s the kind of song that feels like it could soundtrack a lost reel from Easy Rider or echo off the walls of a lava lamp-lit club tucked deep in the mountains.
Yet it’s not all retro vibes and cool tones. Lyrically, White weaves a narrative of descent—not just physical, but emotional and spiritual. There’s a subtle nihilism in the lines, a kind of almost-apathetic acceptance of fate that somehow feels more liberating than grim. “I wanted it to feel like the writer is bound for the bottom,” White explains, “but somehow that last little bit of fall is the trippiest and brightest. Almost like there’s a fear of the tumultuous fall ending, but you want to ride it out because it’s prettiest near the bottom.”
That contradiction is what makes “The Way Down” so compelling. It’s doom, but it’s dancing. It’s a warning, but it’s wrapped in a wink. There’s beauty in the fall, and White invites us to let go and enjoy the free-fall. His vocal delivery is subdued but knowing—an echo in the haze rather than a scream from the void. It’s a tone that complements the song’s theme perfectly: floating rather than flailing.
One of the most impressive aspects of “The Way Down” is that White performed, recorded, and mixed it entirely by himself. And yet, it never feels like a solitary effort. Every element—from the crunchy basslines to the ambient warbles that orbit the core groove—feels intentional and alive. It’s a testament to White’s ability to play with space, texture, and tone in a way that’s both ambitious and inviting.
While “The Way Down” certainly stands on its own, it also serves as a tantalizing preview of A Cosmic Year. If this track is any indication, listeners can expect a kaleidoscopic journey through sound, where nostalgia and innovation collide in spectacular fashion. White isn’t just reinventing his sound—he’s expanding his universe.
In an age where singles are often built for algorithm-friendly playlists and fast dopamine hits, “The Way Down” dares to be something different. It’s not trying to be catchy—it is catchy. It’s not trying to be cool—it just is cool. It invites you into a smoky, slow-burning trip and doesn’t ask for your attention, it earns it.
With “The Way Down,” Matt C. White proves that sometimes the bottom isn’t a place of despair—it’s a portal. And with this track, he’s opened it wide for us to step through, fuzz pedals and all.
