Scott Matthews, singer/songwriter from Wolverhampton, England, released a debut album full of bluesy rock songs, ranging from radio-friendly "Passing Stranger" to the Eastern tinged, quiet folk of "Earth to Calm" in April 2006 on his own co-owned label.
Matthews recorded the album himself independently, had it mastered by
Ray Staff in London, released it, and shortly thereafter Island picked up on it. There is a surreal, dreamlike quality to the album, partly due to
Matthews' voice (which is often double-tracked), and partly due to the music that slides in and out of the mix, with little snippets of jams, songs, and strange instruments thrown in between songs (think
The Hour of Bewilderbeast, but less pop). The opening lines of "Elusive" bear a resemblance to
Jeff Buckley's work on Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk.
Matthews, however, has a lot more dirt in his voice than
Buckley -- he's an earthier, calmer singer. Sometimes he even manages to evoke a
Moby Grape-like sound, or the music
Eddie Vedder did for the
Dead Man Walking soundtrack. The acoustic rhythm tracks
Matthews lays down -- think
Eric Clapton Unplugged -- provide a fine backdrop to his singing. All in all, this is a well-crafted album full of good songs, and an impressive debut. [The 2007 edition featured one bonus track.] ~ Philip D. Huff