With extensive education and experience in musical theatre and opera, Lee Miller Matsos comes to pop music with both an aesthetic appreciation for flair and emotional depth. His latest release, the single “Love Came Home to Stay” is a testament to those qualities. Released earlier this month on the first of August, the song was actually written in the first few months of the COVID pandemic.
“Love Came Home to Stay” directly treats the experience we’re all too familiar with: suddenly getting thrust out of our normal life and regular routine to lockdown, solitude, fear, survival, and unfortunately for many among us, loss and grief. The soulful writing is set against a haunting melody to make a ballad detailing how hope and solidarity is the only way out of this pain.
The chorus highlights the transformative power pain can have when mixed with love and hope, “If I can hold all this pain, maybe then I can help carry someone someday.” With a stunning, quietly poignant arrangement, Matsos’ voicing of the lyrics remains the highlight of the song. Inspired by Paul Simon and Cold Play, the song lets its notes linger, giving space to every word to really settle in and become deeply felt.
Though years behind us now, the repercussions of COVID-19 are still felt deeply on every societal, communal, and personal level. Matsos’ release is both a reminder of the pandemic and a near tribute to its victims, while also resonating beyond the specificity of the event.
