Matt Tecu + Fernando Perdomo: "Getting Warmer" (2025) CD Review

Fernando Perdomo is in the middle of an incredible year-long project in which he releases a new album of original material every month. You'd think that would be enough to keep him busy, but he has managed to find the time to record an album with drummer Matt Tecu. Titled Getting Warmer, this disc features all original material, composed by the two musicians. This album follows the duo's 2024 release, Art. The two also performed on 2023's Abbey Road Reimagined: A Tribute To The Beatles, which Fernando Perdomo also produced, and Rebecca Pigeon's excellent Songs Of L.A., released in 2024. But most folks will remember them from their work in the 2018 film Echo In The Canyon, where they are members of the Echo In The Canyon Band. On this new album, Matt Tecu plays drums, percussion, scratching guitar and mouth bass; Fernando Perdomo plays guitar, bass, keyboards, electric sitar and percussion. And they have a couple of special guests on key tracks.

The album kicks off with "Low Hanging Fruit," which has a great driving rock sound. This is one of the tracks to feature a special guest. Rami Jaffee, whom you know from his work in Foo Fighters and The Wallflowers, plays organ on this track, delivering some cool stuff. This tune is a solid jam, one that seems designed to call us together, to get us on board, and to give us an idea of what might lie ahead. And it is fun. Then "Between The Sheets" establishes a cool, sly, and soulful vibe at its very start. This one will take you back to some of the best sounds and vibes of the 1970s, those seductive sounds from the years before sex became dangerous, and with some interesting touches that set it apart from albums from that period. It's all incredibly appealing.

"Club Lingerie" is the name of a club on the Sunset Strip, one that no longer exists. Here the beat is front and center, commanding our attention from the beginning, and driving us into the night scene. There is a wonderful combination of sounds here, some pop, some fuzz, some industrial, all working quite well together. There is something alluring about this track, making us feel a bit younger than we are. "Koko Sal" also begins with its beat, but goes in quite a different direction, with a more cheerful sound and vibe. This one feels like summer, feels like being outdoors, and having all the time in the world that the longer days seem to promise. Or at least that's how it felt when we growing up, like time was endless. And that's how this track feels. I love it. That's followed by "The Destiny Inn," which is also the name of an actual place in Los Angeles. This one has an electronic sound as it starts, and soon takes on a soothing, easygoing vibe. There is something relaxing about it, but also something that seems to invite a bit of romance. Perhaps a rendezvous at the motel? It ends up being another of the disc's highlights.

Then we get a track titled "Foreign Correspondent." I need to revisit the Alfred Hitchcock film at some point. This track too has something of a relaxed vibe, inviting us to slip into its world and let it take care of us, which of course is appealing. This one features some pretty work on guitar. It is followed by "Deflowers," which has a fun pop sound with a delightful, youthful energy and some delicious work on bass. Partway through, it takes on a funkier sound, becoming even more enjoyable. At times, this one feels like it should have lyrics, like it's the instrumental version of a hit song. Then that is followed by a song that does have vocals, "Tarte A La Creme." That's special guest Cheyenne Crowe, who delivers the lyrics in French, in a spoken word manner. I don't speak French, but there is almost always something appealing in hearing the language, especially when spoken by a female voice. The music here has a dreamlike quality. At the end, the instruments drop out, leaving just the voice for a moment. This is the album's only track to feature vocals.

Things get kind of funky with "Sweat Weather," a wonderfully playful title, the opposite of sweater weather. We're often in sweat weather here in Los Angeles, and certainly are now. I suppose depending on what you're doing, sweat weather could be anytime, for there is something sexy about this music. Rami Jaffee again joins the duo on this track, this time on Mellotron. The album then concludes with its title track, "Getting Warmer." It is indeed getting warmer here in L.A., though when I hear the phrase "getting warmer," I think of the games of childhood, when you've hidden something and let the other kid know whether he was getting warmer or colder. So in that respect, this is a positive thing, for we're getting closer. There is a slow, cool approach to this track, which makes perfect sense, for sometimes when it's hot, we can't move fast. We can hear the sizzling here, and we can feel it.

CD Track List

1. Low Hanging Fruit
2. Between The Sheets
3. Club Lingerie
4. Koko Sal
5. The Destiny Inn
6. Foreign Correspondent
7. Deflowers
8. Tarte A La Creme
9. Sweat Weather
10. Getting Warmer

Getting Warmer was released on March 28, 2025.