This is MATTHEW (M.G) BOULTER'S third album, following on from 2008’s ‘Blue Vinyl Island’, and more recently 2012’s ‘The Whispering Pines’.
‘The Water Or The Wave’ was recorded last year at The Broom Cupboard Studio in Rayleigh, Essex, and is a sublime blend of gentle folk and pop music. There are eleven tracks on the album, which makes for just over half an hour’s perfect relaxing listening. It immediately impresses in that the band backing Matthew never really break into a sweat over the songs, yet they're absolutely spot on.
Opening with ‘Evelyn’, a guitar based folk song with poppy inflections, this quickly showcases Matthew’s clever wordplay which brings to mind some biblical imagery along with a travelling romance: -“I’ll meet you down by the corner, the one ‘tween Masseys and Drive/ The bells will be ringing for a new day is dawning, for he died to bring us to life.” And: - “The rumbling of the sleepers, counting the pylons ‘til home/Oh, Eve I can hear you whisper near of things I should have known.”
This is followed by ‘Once I Was’, an acoustic guitar track that immediately had images of Simon & Garfunkel springing to mind due to the arrangement and slightly surreal lyric: - “Once I was a blackbird, flying beneath the sun. Once I was a bullet, down the coat blood did run.”
|
The album then tends to flit back and forth between poppier, or more folk-rock orientated songs and the acoustic folk ballads, both of which are extremely enjoyable. Of special note are ‘Confetti Hearts’ which features some great fiddle playing by James Wilson, and touches upon the more countrified end of the folk genre. This is probably the most danceable track on the album.
The album goes out on a definite high with ‘Winter Storm’, an atmospheric folk ballad which encapsulates everything that is good with the album, crisp vocals and a real clarity of sound. Once again, the lyrics are evocative: -“In the garden snow close to midnight, it was ten below, he was wasting times/ It takes courage for a man to realise that there’s nothing in life left to burn.”
‘The Water Or The Wave’ could turn out to be this summer’s slow burner. It certainly has all the hallmarks of a minor classic.
M.G Boulter online
|
