Founding member of The Features (active from 1994 to 2016), Matt Pelham's distinctive voice and songwriting style helped to establish the group as "a local institution" by The Nashville Scene. After the band went on hiatus starting in 2016, Pelham began the process of taking some time off, brewing up new compositions and learning to record the ideas in a way he was satisfied with. "Cutting Ties" is the first single from a batch of new songs that explore Pelham's experiences and observations on the world. The artwork is provided by his daughter Edith Pelham, whom Features fans may recall from the cover of The Beginning EP. She sums up the new project perfectly:

Matt and the Watt Gives is the new solo project of long time Features front-dude, Matt Pelham. Since the disbanding of the Features in 2016, Matt has found himself very busy with a large variety of grown-up junk… Now, after eight years, for his sanity and the sanity of the people around him, Matt has decided to write, record, and play music again. — Edith Pelham