Matt Walters - The Moon,Stars and People

Tue 16th May, 2006 in Music Reviews

I had no idea who Melbourne singer songwriter Matt Walters was when his album came flying through the post to me. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s easy to pigeonhole people who are releasing their second album at the age of 20 as precocious or some kind of pretty boy with an amazingly talented marketing team behind him. Thankfully, Matt’s talent shows not only a mature singer songwriter, but someone with a genuine appreciation for the construction of a great song.

As I listen to this album The Moon, Stars and People, I notice the blend of angry voice with acoustic guitar doesn’t work for me. When Matt moves into the realm of dreamy vocals and guitars to caress the soul, he excels. His vulnerability as a lyricist is quite brave. He is not afraid to bare his feelings and emote. In some aspects, his music reminds me of bands from the 1980s such as Orange Juice and also, particularly, of a Brisbane band from that era called Sun Orange [what was it about ‘orange’ in the ‘80s?]. Very retro, exacerbated by the guitar sounds.

‘She Came by Water’ has a driving rhythm section that can’t decide if it’s jazz or R&B or indie. Love the Hammond organ sound. I definitely think this song will receive airplay and will be quite popular. It is frantic yet incredibly melodic, a common theme I am discovering with this album; this infectious late ‘80s / early ‘90s guitar.

Matt has mature songwriting capabilities for someone so young and his lyrics speak of a romantic pain I’m not sure a 20 year old should have suffered. And now, as I listen to this album more, the angst combined with acoustic guitar is growing on me.

I close my eyes to listen to the guitars and his voice in the song ‘Back Home’. They are both so rich you want to appreciate them as fully as possible. A great album to listen to in the dark. This song takes me back to the idealism I felt as a teenager; it’s difficult to be cynical about the music industry when someone like Matt can release an album and be commercially accepted. There should be room for every style of music, especially music with such heart in it. Oh, except country and western and most R&B and rap…but that’s my personal opinion, and does in no way reflect the views of Faster Louder!

Matt’s opening vocals in the song ‘Simple’ are mesmerising and the mood changes dramatically after the first verse. These songs are beautifully written and romantic, heartfelt and blindingly vulnerable. It takes guts to be this plaintive. Powerful song.

And then…sometimes the complexity of Matt’s arrangements simply gets in the way of a good song. Such as the track “Tell you”. I prefer music that is artfully complex or powerful in simplicity, not music that is trying to be something more or less than it is. I believe if Matt progresses where his strengths lie, he will have a great career in a year or two. If not, he could get lost. I think it’s important for an artist to pick a style and put their energy into that. This album can be a little confusing at times and I’m not sure what it is trying to make the listener feel. The messages are too diverse. I also have no idea what place the Gary Numanesque synths have in the song “Good morning night”. They are out of place and jarring in this context.

In ‘World Won’t Wait’, Matt gets it all right. This song’s simplicity is what great songwriting is all about. Being brave enough to keep the music pared down to the essentials, relying on a beautiful voice. This puts the listener in a dreamy mind space.

While not to my personal taste in music, this album is refreshingly well written and Matt is a fine singer songwriter. If your tastes run from EMO to indie to alt folk I think you would love this album.