Matt York’s new solo album Boston, Texas finds the former Wide Iris front man playing an eclectic mix of flinty roots-rock material. His vocal approach maintains a fine balance between warmth and seriousness. While the personality behind his songs is open and inviting, he also reflects a seriousness about his topics that give each number substance. Though York is playing in another musical territory than his old indie punk band, he’s still young at heart and still values the importance of a good song and a riff that pulls you into it.
“Big Fan Of Why” opens the disc with York’s flinty, roots rock guitar style. One can feel the grit in his six strings as he opines about the pointlessness of trying to figure the world out instead of just living in it. The lead guitar practically sings its higher notes, offering another layer of emotion, a feeling of joy when one lets go of the “why” question to everything. York’s vocal still has that blend of emotive expression and chirpy joy. It’s fun to listen as he explains why he’s “not a big fan of why.”
“Let’s Go To The Beach” is a quirky, flinty rocker. York sings, on one level, about going to the beach, which is a fun, relaxing theme. On another level he’s talking about the occasional need to stay young forever, with beach muscles and the Jack Wagner songs from a simpler pop-rock past. The interval of rhythm guitar notes keeps the listener glued while York’s vocal makes one want to sing along.
Turning to a more breezy, southern feeling, “Saw You On Friday” sounds like something one might have heard on the radio in 1957 while driving through Texas highways. Oldies rock and roll guitar riffs make their easygoing statement while being juxtaposed with a swaying, Katy Boc fiddle line that brings the listener to a sweeter time and place. York sings over this floating rhythmic charm with a gritty timbre and a reflective mood that makes one feel what is going on in this piece.
“Losing Streak” benefits from a real purty electric guitar melody. It’s one of those melodies that wafts in the breeze and stands out with its sweet timbre and gentle forward momentum. Like tumbleweed finding its direction by magic, this melody line ambles while actually taking the listener somewhere with purpose and meaning. With a mournful vocal approach, York carries the listener through this song with a majestic aplomb. His song seems simple but it’s offering hope in that the person this song is about is trying to find a better way of life.
“New To You” is a zippy, twangy rocker about a guy who explains to his woman that he’s always been the sensitive guy he seems like after she dumps him. His natural vocal timbre lends credibility and sincerity to this tune about crying and regrets. It’s impossible not to like this song. Its lead guitar is an intricate tap dance of feelings amidst a steady pattern of infectious rhythmic motion.
“Sick Of It All” finds York sounding more like a tortured soul. His anguished vocal approach reveals the lyrics’ frustration with a failed love relationship. Singing over a drone of slow motion guitar phrasing and the flinty guitar tones, York comes across like a guru of depression, in a really cool musical way. Whatever he went through to have this song in his head must have been worth the suffering to get this minor gem.
“Tomorrows” has a fine traveling motion. A down home feeling coming from the electric guitars amble along an open sonic highway. They feel free and determined while York works that chirpy vocal of his to create an earthy, organic sound. A catchy chorus and an engaging guitar line near the end complete this interesting confection.
Rippling acoustic guitar notes and an eerie, moody violin conjure a haunted country and western atmosphere on “I’m Back.” The grit coming from the acoustic contrasts well with the more easeful motions of the violin. Both instruments augment the vocal in a Johnny Cash influenced vocal approach, a gruff voice asserting itself over a background of swelling emotion and or a foretold event. It’s a winsome approach and the song has heart.
York closes out his nine track CD with a mellow piece titled “Love You The Same,” a solo acoustic number that lets this singer-songwriter show what he can do in the pared down format. His thinner timbre is filled with emotion while he picks a forlorn melodic line on his acoustic. A haunted, distant feeling creates the scene, a setting York spins out of nowhere with just a few delicate applications of guitar and voice.
The former Wide Iris front man has clearly carved out his own territory with this nine track CD. He has his own distinct voice and his own distinct sound. York keeps everything fresh and familiar at once, a sign of a gifted singer-songwriter. We will likely be hearing a lot more from him now that he’s back in the music business and has this finely crafted disc as a calling card.
Matt York has a CD Release party scheduled for January 30th at Atwoods Tavern in Cambridge, MA.
https://www.facebook.com/events/776387729173853/
http://mattyorkpembroke.wix.com/folk-singer-songwrit
