|
There is only really one full time Russian Futurist, and that's
Matthew Adam Hart, a singer/songwriter/multi instrumentalist who
resides in Eastern Ontario. Me, Myself and Rye appears to be a five-year
retrospective, including cuts from his first two albums that drew him high
profile admirers in Peter Buck and Magnetic Fields.
On this evidence Hart must be an amiable, easy-going person, as his take
on pop music is uniformly positive, but he clearly feels the need to let
off steam now and again, as a few of the more bombastic tracks here show.
Melody is his strong point, emphasised by the refusal of at least five of
those songs to leave the brain.
Hurtin' 4 Certain, the most immediate of these, is a kind of 'round',
the melody travelling in beguiling circles. Let's Get Ready To Crumble (not
quite the response to Ant and Dec you might imagine!) perfectly
encapsulates the fine-tuned blend of uplifting vocals tinged with
melancholy that Hart offers, rather like listening to Paddy McAloon
in a roomy nightclub.
While Hart's charming, winsome melodies often win the day, his
instrumentation is pretty ambitious too, making use of the big, reverberant
textures to include a nice, oboe like sound in the detail of Telegram From
The Future. This track has a melting harmonic progression, a
near-widescreen moment that's shared by It's Not Really Cold.
Sometimes the texture can get too busy, with too many counter melodies
included, but when Hart uses it to his advantage, as in the opening track,
pizzicato strings shadow the singer while the booming bass drum provides a
solid point of reference. Try the brassy wall of sound that opens Paul
Simon - more Phil Spector to these ears as the shrill horns sound.
Several Futurists for the price of one here!
Another minor problem that rears its head after a few listens is Hart's
tendency to repeat himself rather than develop his ideas, part of the
reason they burn themselves into your consciousness in the first place, but
one that leaves tracks like Precious Metals less satisfying than they might
have been. Even this, however, benefits from Hart's clear and unfussy
vocals, deeply felt and upward looking.
An enjoyable listen, then, to music that has welcome quirks, memorable
hooks and lyrics, which, when used to their full potential, can be subtly
moving. As an introduction to the one-man band, it works nicely.
Comments
|
 |
|
ALBUM:
more