Mat Hannah has been veering hard towards the pop genre for the last couple of years. Known best as part of the award-winning Charlottetown-based band Little Cities—who we’ve also watched make their quick shift from punk rock, to pop punk, to power pop—Hannah has really stuck the landing with his new single as a solo artist, “Unlucky.”
The song’s title spells out everything you need to know about it. “Unlucky” goes bright and shiny on the production, but the lyrics are clearly those of someone who got the Lucy treatment when it came to their kick at the can.
“Growing up, I’ve felt that I always had the worst luck! I seemed to be ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’,” says Hannah, echoing the sentiments of most millennials.
“When I’ve tried everything, nothing looks too promising. Why do I gotta be unlucky,” questions Hannah, no doubt well aware that he was born into a generation that has been full of promise without opportunity.
Despite the song’s less-than-hopeful message, Hannah still manages to find a silver lining, comparing himself to the brightest moment this generation has had the privilege of witnessing: The Killer’s ongoing reign of 279 consecutive weeks on the UK Charts with their single, “Mr. Brightside.”
“My new single, ‘Unlucky,’ seeks comfort in a state of melancholy. Sad, but hopeful. I’ve always been a ‘Mr. Brightside’ kinda fella,” says Hannah. Never mind that Brandon Flowers wrote the song after discovering his then-girlfriend cheating on him in a bar—he’s still the clear winner in that arrangement.
Hopefully, Hannah can pull off something similar with this new single.
“Got used to my unluckiness and just learned to deal with it; shrug it off and make the best of it. There’s no need to beat yourself up about things that are completely out of your control. When you are down on your luck, it is easy to think that the whole world is against you. But there is always a light at the end of the tunnel!”
Mat Hannah’s debut solo EP is expected to drop sometime this fall.