Mat Hunsley has released his new album titled ‘The Things We Need’. A quiet kind of confidence runs through The Things We Need, the debut from Newcastle songwriter Mat Hunsley. It doesn’t arrive with grand gestures or overworked hooks. Instead, it settles in slowly, like early morning light through half-drawn curtains. The record leans into stillness, letting acoustic textures and negative space do the heavy lifting, and in doing so it feels remarkably self-assured for a first full-length. You get the sense this is an artist who has spent years sitting with these songs, turning them over, waiting until they felt honest enough to share.
Hunsley’s influences are easy to trace but never overwhelming. Shades of Bon Iver’s fragile intimacy and Ben Howard’s open-tuned wanderings drift through the record, but the palette feels grounded, less concerned with aesthetic and more with emotional clarity. The title track is a perfect entry point, building patiently from a hushed acoustic core into something quietly cinematic. It never tips into melodrama, though. Even at its fullest, the song feels restrained, as if it knows exactly how far to go and no further.
What gives the album its real weight is its perspective. “There’s Been A Death” stands out not just musically, but thematically, drawing directly from Hunsley’s time working within the NHS. It’s a stark, unvarnished piece that avoids cliché entirely, trading sentimentality for something more unsettling and real. A sense of exhaustion is woven into the arrangement, a heaviness that mirrors the subject matter without ever becoming overbearing. It’s rare to hear songs like this that feel both deeply personal and quietly political without announcing themselves as either.
Across the record, simplicity becomes a kind of philosophy. The most affecting moments are often the sparsest, where a single guitar line or a near-whispered vocal carries more weight than any layered production could. That instinct for restraint is what ultimately defines The Things We Need. It’s not trying to impress you. It’s trying to connect. And more often than not, it succeeds, marking Hunsley as a voice worth paying close attention to as he steps further into the wider indie landscape.
Q&A
What really stuck out to me while learning more about you was your work in the medical field. Are there any specific stories from your experience that ended up on the record that you’re willing to share?
There’s Been a Death is the closest I’ve ever come to writing directly from my medical life. It isn’t a literal retelling of specific cases, but it’s full of impressions from those early pandemic months. I was working on a respiratory ward at the time and saw the whole strange arc unfold — the eerie quiet before COVID hit, the sudden overwhelm, the queues of ambulances outside A&E, and patients lining corridors because there simply wasn’t space anywhere else.
The “family man” in the song came from news stories about people who didn’t make it into hospital in time and died in the back of an ambulance. Those stories hit me hard, not just as a clinician but as someone with a family of my own. Since qualifying in 2017, I’ve watched the NHS under huge strain, and the pandemic didn’t create that pressure so much as accelerate it. Working in that system has shaped how I see the world, how I empathise, and how I write — it inevitably bleeds into everything.
How did your musical influences from your favorite artists shape this release? Is it more the lyrics, the music, or something more intangible?
This album is steeped in the artists I love. The production and soundscape nod to people like Ben Howard and Bon Iver, who were huge for me early on, while the songwriting leans more toward Flyte, Adrianne Lenker, and Billie Marten — artists whose lyricism feels timeless and carefully crafted.
I try to avoid cliché, but I’m also comfortable admitting that great art leaves fingerprints. All the songs began life on an acoustic guitar, which is the heart of the record, but the influences show up everywhere: in the textures, the atmosphere, and the way the lyrics try to hold something honest without being heavy‑handed.
There’s a great balance between folk and a little bit of electronic elements, like the synths. How do you strike that balance?
Everything starts acoustically for me, so the folk foundation is always there. But in my day‑to‑day listening, I’m drawn to artists who play with production – layers, ambience, little details that shift the emotional temperature of a song. When I began this project, I was brand new to producing, and as I learned, I became more confident weaving in synths and electronic textures.
How do you like working in a home studio set up?
My setup is incredibly modest – one mic, a basic interface, a computer, and a few guitars. No fancy outboard gear, no high‑end monitors. But I’ve pushed that little room as far as it can go, and everything on the album was recorded there except the strings and drums.
There’s something lovely about being able to walk in and start recording immediately, but it can also be isolating. Part of my goal with this album was to learn as much as I could – production, mixing, the whole lot – partly out of curiosity and partly out of necessity, because making music is expensive. I’m proud of what came out of that process, but I’m also excited to be more collaborative earlier on next time.
What did your collaborators contribute creatively and emotionally?
The people around this record made it what it is. Joseph Lawrenson arranged and recorded all the strings, and his work lifted these songs far beyond what I could have imagined. Ben Helm, a long‑time friend and multi‑instrumentalist, added depth and perspective at key moments, acting as a great mentor. Emma Robson wrote and sang most of the backing vocals, and she has this instinct for harmonies that feel essential rather than decorative. Josh Ingledew came in late in the process to help shape some of the synth textures, especially on The Things We Need and If Anyone Asks. After months of working alone, seeing someone generate ideas so quickly was mesmerizing.
Any plans to play out live?
I’m keen to prioritise touring much more than I have done in the past and I’m in the final stages of planning a short run of shows from April to June 2026. Because of medical work and having a young family at home, the tour will be spread across weekends rather than one long stretch, but that feels like the right balance for my life at the moment. I’m hoping to add more dates later in the year too, but the April–June run will be the first to go out.
About Mat Hunsley
Newcastle-based songwriter Mat Hunsley steps forward with his long-awaited debut album ‘The Things We Need’, arriving March 13th and supported by the PRS Open Fund. Blending folk intimacy with alternative textures, Hunsley introduces a body of work shaped as much by lived experience as by musical instinct, a record that reflects years spent balancing the emotional demands of medical training with an unwavering commitment to songwriting.
Now fully qualified as a doctor, Hunsley emerges with a collection that explores both personal reflection and wider social realities. Inspired in his late teens by artists including Ben Howard, Nathaniel Rateliff and Bon Iver, he began teaching himself guitar, experimenting with open tunings and discovering the rich chord voicings and melodic color that now define his sound.
The album’s title track, ‘The Things We Need’, encapsulates this evolution. Opening with delicate acoustic guitar and Hunsley’s breathy, near-weightless vocal, the song gradually expands into a textured yet subtle arrangement. Layered guitars, subtle synths and piano swell toward a powerful yet haunting crescendo, balancing minimalism with cinematic depth. Self-produced by Hunsley in his modest home studio, the track highlights his instinct for space, restraint and emotional pacing.
Much of the album was recorded and mixed independently, a process Hunsley approached with quiet determination. Additional collaborations elevate the record’s sonic palette, with drummer Matt Hardy (Lanterns on the Lake, Lovely Assistant) and string arranger Joseph Lawrenson (Dancing Years) lending nuance and atmosphere to the project.
Another standout, ‘There’s Been A Death’, draws directly from Hunsley’s experience within the NHS. Offering an unflinching portrayal of overburdened hospitals and exhausted staff, the track serves as both personal testimony and social commentary. It underscores his rare ability to merge frontline perspective with poetic storytelling, transforming stark reality into deeply affecting art.
Throughout the making of ‘The Things We Need’, Hunsley discovered that simplicity carried the greatest emotional weight. The album’s most stripped-back moments resonate most profoundly, echoing the music that first inspired him while establishing a voice entirely his own.
With ‘The Things We Need’, Mat Hunsley positions himself as a thoughtful and authentic new presence within the UK’s contemporary folk and alternative landscape, a songwriter unafraid to pair vulnerability with conviction, and introspection with impact.
LINKS:
https://www.instagram.com/hunsleymat/
https://www.facebook.com/MatHunsley/
https://tiktok.com/@hunsleymat
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv_ekpBAH6V3O8OrViv67pQ