The last time the former Dunedinite returned to his boyhood home was April 2015, after a period of rest following relentless activity and touring.
"That show was quite a seminal moment for me. I was just starting my journey back to performing music and it solidified my thoughts that it was the right thing for me to do," he explained via email.
"I remember the crowd was really enthused; it was like seeing an old friend, for me anyways. People were singing along with Steady life, a track from my first album. There is a line in the chorus where I sing "seven years is gonna change a man ..." and I remember after the show thinking how much seven years had changed in that time from album one to now ... How I had completely walked away from playing music and now had come full circle to finding that same enthusiasm I had before I even got signed to a label and began touring.
"When the new album was finally at the stage of being named, Seven Years seemed fitting for so many reasons, not only because it had been that amount of time in between albums, but it harked back to that line in that song, tied the albums together and also reminded me of that moment where I realised this is something I’ve really missed doing."
As part of his break from music, Joe Gow also took some time out from Melbourne (though he has also spent time in Canada, the United States, Europe and England) and relocated to St Leonards, where the coastal environment helped bring on a burst of creativity and songwriting.
"It gave me a chance to reflect on things. I wasn’t paying much in rent, I wasn’t having to commute anywhere in traffic, so I could really focus on what I wanted to do. I ended up playing music for myself again, as cliched as that might sound.
"The songs I created there I sent to [my guitarist] Andrew Pollock. He felt the material was strong and encouraged me to record them properly. That started the ball rolling."
The new album showcases Joe Gow’s most diverse set of songs to date, straddling the dusty influences of Johnny Cash and alt-country poster boy Ryan Adams to the layered shimmering guitar pop last heard with Joe Gow’s band, The Dead Leaves.
"What is so unique about the album, I feel, is half of it was never meant to be heard by anyone. Ultimately, the listener is getting a real insight into quite personal content and, ironically, it seems that that is what is really connecting with people.
"Dunedin itself is always in my music. The Dunedin Sound might not be reflected as much in terms of rhythms or instrumentation as I take more influence from the music I grew up listening to ... Dylan, Cash, B. B. King etc, but the lyrical content in regards to the melancholic nature of some of my lyrics, I think some of that is due to the environment, the weather, the mood set by Flying Nun bands ... So that weight is always present in my writing."
For the show, Joe Gow will be performing with a five-piece band.
"Expect a really diverse set with songs from both The Messenger and Seven Years, as well as some surprises," he said.
"Songs by some of my favourite artists and maybe a bit of blues among the Americana."
The gig
• Matt Joe Gow and band, Saturday, November 19, at Dog With Two Tails. Doors from 8pm. Support from Tom Maxwell, of Killergrams.
Joe Gow will also be playing an afternoon solo acoustic set at Starfish, on November 20.
Seven Years is available from www.mattjoegow.com/
