Peter The Human Boy

About

" An analogue boy in a digital world "

Emerging from a VHS world soundtracked by vintage synths is the hopeless Austrian romantic Peter Mathis, aka. Peter The Human Boy. The singer-songwriter engages in forlorn poetry, seeking self-identity through his wistful, retro guitar and synth pop. It’s an immersive world about love that makes you feel both wanted and desolate at the same time.

“It’s that kind of love,that comes and goes,” he laments on single ‘This Kind of Love,’ taken from his second LP, ‘Stranger’s Life’. The new album is a graduation from the school-boy pop vibes of his first album ‘Goodbye Summer’, that, although it carried the same slow-rock charm as its predecessor, lacked the authentic melancholic sound of the more recent offering. Indeed, his first album was described as being “a personal farewell to a carefree youth,” highlighting that by his second, Mathis has embraced full-on maturity by showing his tender, emotional side. 

Along with his backing band, and his nostalgic trope, Mathis has been haunting crowds with his yacht-rock music. Keeping things true to the source, most of Mathis’ latest album was even recorded straight to tape, to ensure full saturation across all tracks. The dreamy, contemplative music is the soundtrack to today’s modern youth, searching for meaning, and dreaming of easier times. 

With their vintage clothes, the band carry on playing vintage tunes, from the Mac DeMarco-light ’Nobody Needs to be Lonely’, to moody yet ironic single ‘Let’s Be Hippies’. Overall, his beautiful, on-point songwriting shows that Peter is much more than a human boy, he is the human man of our time.

Photo : Luca Celine Mueller