It’s Simon & Garfunkel! Ian Tyson and… Ian II? No, it’s summersets, AKA: Kalle Mattson and Andrew Sowka. Mattson has been a mainstay of the Ottawa singer-songwriter scene since he moved here from his hometown of Sault Ste. Marie; Sowka is a longtime collaborator who’s been with Mattson since the days in the Sault.
New song “borderline,” released today, is a clear homage to Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” but “set on the Ontario-Quebec border, hopefully a worthy placeholder,” says Mattson in the video’s press release. Other videos released from the forthcoming full-length—out June 9—lean into the duo’s natural likeness to Simon & Garfunkel. Put two folkniks together, and you’re bound to get those comparisons.
The upcoming album small town story is a song cycle set in small-town Northern Ontario. Check out previous singles “christian scientist” and “afterall,” and watch the new video for “borderlines” in the player below.
