Uncompromising, enigmatic, and wildly ambitious, Brooks Nielsen (co-founder and lead singer of Southern California surf-psych icons The Growlers) is proud to announce his first full-length solo album One Match Left: a double-vinyl, twenty-song journey into the heart of darkness, and toward the light that eventually remains. “There’s happiness in there,” says Nielsen. “The bands that I like have a sense of humor, like Television Personalities or Jonathan Richman, but there’s tragedy too. That’s the old theatrical tradition.” One Match Left showcases these aspects in epic fashion, with Nielsen playing the role of carnival barker, lullaby crooner, and rock & roll priest. It’s Nielsen’s first time around without The Growlers; he’s now joined by friends Christopher Darley (Father John Misty) and Levi Prairie on songwriting duties. Producer Michael Andrews (Donnie Darko’s “Mad World”), keyboardist Robert Walter (Greyboy Allstars), and drummer Joey Waronker (Beck, Atoms For Peace), infuse the material with a lush palette. “It’s all a bit of smoke and mirrors,” says Nielsen, speaking of One Match Left in general, and of the cover art made with Pamela Littky. Through the prism of time, we’ll see One Match Left for the many things that it is: a reflection on the death of a relationship, a public reckoning for a fan-favorite band, a love letter to his wife, and a daring step forward for one of contemporary music’s most essential voices, Mr. Brooks Nielsen.