Matthew Neel "New Maps of Hell" ( Scratchy 2010)

Acoustic, restrained debut with snappy lyricism and black heart

Opening with an upbeat ‘That Is All’ that reeks of 1930s decadence and the social whirl, this album then steps into more familiar singer songwriter territory with ‘You Belong Here’ and ‘Emily’ with some snappy lines and beautiful guitar figures from Luke Brightly.

The required introspective melancholy then surfaces with ‘First World Blues’ and its end of days speculation (If you find your peace of mind disappears as it all unwinds when even living raises bruises). A simple melody with some subdued drums and a alacratic guitar skipping its blues shapes all over the vocals. Excellent. This represents a step up in the song writing evidenced so far. ‘Well Anyway’ follows this step with a nervy, edgy lyric over a sparse and tight accompaniment that again has Brightly dispensing guitar shapes over the vocal line but this time with an Edge-like, spacey vibe.

‘A Little Peace’ and ‘Hey Citizen’ are a step back and ordinary in comparison whilst ‘We will be Dreaming’ has a Tom McCrae feel and simplicity.
A competent and assured debut that promises much for the future.

Date review added:  Sunday, February 21, 2010
Reviewer:  keith lovejoy
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