Reviewed by Paul S Ganney

With a website that described Matt as "an angst pop singer/songwriter" I was ready for emo-rock and so was pleasantly surprised by the varied music he delivered. Opening with a rapped/sung sort-of pop industrial track, I wasn't ready for the piano intro to the Eminem cover ("Lose Yourself") that followed (his phrasing is very Eminem on "Fat Lady" so I guess that's a major influence). That track also picked up a pop industrial feel as it progressed. Matt has a decent voice, strong enough to rise above the very full backing which, as I've said, has a sort-of pop industrial feel, very solid beats and lots and lots of keyboard work over it, layers of beats and breaks and fills. I'd say there were comparisons with Justin Timberlake (but not his early stuff) to be made. He's a singer who occasionally raps rather than the other way round (as is very clear when COPE guests on "Save Me") - playing sensibly to his strengths. The overlaying of multiple sounds and voices works best on tracks such as "Hollywood Machine" where a great deal of the effects mesh well with the lyrical theme and give it an overall cinematic feel. There are two versions of "A Devil Won't Change His Ways" sensibly separated by a quite different track. Aside from the extra vocal I wasn't too sure of the differences, though. Overall a very modern sounding and very good album.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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