Scott Matthews: Passing Stranger
Passing Stranger is Scott Matthews' debut album
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Monday, 02, Oct 2006 06:00
Island, out now .
In a nutshell.
Folksy, sweet, tuneful, bucolic, harmony
What's it all about?
Scott Matthews' debut effort is a comprehensive collection of crotchety tunes with country and folk influences. Much has been made of the dark and discomforting notes that Matthews' produces and comparisons to Nick Drake have been lauded by many in the music press. He certainly has mastered the Drake style shudder and strange pronunciation of certain words, but the songs are very different. City Headache is an obvious highlight, moving away from the folk compositions temporarily and delivering a track Patrick Wolf would be proud of. There's an array of sounds and utterances everywhere on Passing Stranger, signalling an interesting production process that offers an enjoyable and compelling listen.
Who's it by?
Passing Stranger is Scott Matthews' debut album and demonstrates well his knack for putting together a complicated and haunting pop song. At 17 tracks, it's far from short. But it doesn't feel overlong and Matthews' uses a technique mastered by Sufjan Stevens when he punctuates every few tracks with a short instrumental that breaks up the record. Matthews' debut single, Elusive, received glowing reviews and a recommendation from Zane Lowe on his Radio 1 show. His live performances have been similarly popular, with Matthews sat on a chair, eyes closed, singing into the shadows. Coming from Wolverhampton means that Matthews' material contains no odes to the dirty alleys of London, but more to the boredom and regularity of life in the black country.
As an example.
"The coldest heart you've ever felt/the coldest hand you've ever held/she's elusive and I'm awake/define the real/there's nothing fake." Elusive demonstrates the airiness of Matthews' work as well as that tinged Drake style vocal.
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
Scott Matthews, like many dark folk artists, has set out to produce a work that is as inaccessible as possible in many places. Elusive may find itself on the odd 2006 'top 100' list, but other than that Passing Stranger is set up to be a haunting cult classic.
What the others say
"He's about as Jeff Buckley/Elliot Smith/Rufus Wainwright as they come but has managed to be more than just a weak imitation. And for that he should be commended. 'Elusive' is a beautiful track." - Gigwise
"It's in the guitar playing and blending of musical styles that he excels (in the seventeen strong play list we have musical interludes)." - ukmusic.com
So is it any good?
At times Passing Stranger can be captivating, but often Matthews contrives to produce too many folk ballads that are at best forgetful. The Fool's Fooling Himself and Dream Song provide early hope, with raw drum beats and an enthralling vocal from Matthews that delivers powerful notes to fast guitar. But Passing Stranger gets lost along the way with some appalling and often inattentive country numbers.
The title track supplements itself with the odd injection of harmonica that attempts to blend blues with folksy hippie guitar, yet it results in a dull and uninteresting song. City Headache and Elusive dismiss the country influences entirely, with Matthews' vocal slightly distorted and performing some of his best lyrics. It's on songs like this that Matthews can sound like a man full of ideas and potential, mixing excellent song writing with some inventive and intoxicating music. Bruno Finale takes a comical slant on this blend of musical influences, but tracks like Earth To Calm and Still Fooling leave this record feeling jaded and weary.
Scott Matthews clearly has the ideas and the ability to produce some unconventional and imaginative work, but many of his songs sound confused and misplaced. Passing Strangers is dragged down by impassive and drab tracks that seem completely out of place alongside Matthews' strongest songs.
5/10
Karl Pike