M Ross Perkins makes fine Midwestern power pop, and his 2025 album What’s the Matter, M Ross? is filled with songs that pull off the neat trick of being relaxed and peaceful while never being boring or trite. Throughout the record, he balances peppy, jangle-infused tracks like “Hey Man/Hey Self” and “Baby, My Bad” with laid-back songs that are drawn from sources as varied as bossa nova (“I Feel So Dumb”) and pastoral folk (“A Date for One”). There’s also a strong vein of country-rock running through the record along with the occasional rocker to keep things interesting. The rumbling, rambling “I Don’t Wanna Be So High” is a fine example of the latter, while “That’s Fine” has some twang in the guitars and some drawl in the vocals. Best of all are the songs where Perkins jams all…
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