MATTHEW CURRAN - review added 11th December 2009
Album Review: Simplify (2008)
For fans of: Alt Rock... and rubbish album artwork
Matthew Curran is something of a guitar prodigy. By the age of 11 he was the youngest guitarist ever to be sponsored by Gibson. At 12, he opened concerts for Deep Purple and The Scorpions. He has even been the subject of a documentary - which I hope is actually about his guitar playing...
Simplify is a self-produced effort. Saying that, when you were mentored in the art by Grammy Award winning engineer Kirk Yano (Mariah Carey), you know the results have a fair chance of being good. In fact, from a professional point of view, the artwork is the only downer on this release. I say artwork, although it's clearly just a cack photo with some writing plonked on top.
The musicianship is impressive. I'm not going to say the songs are amazing because they don't excite me that much, but there's little doubt Matthew is a talented guy. The vocals are fine, the guitar playing is excellent - if not quite as astonishing as his history would lead you to believe.
The sound is stripped back, bare in fact. It's little more than guitar, vocals and some understated accompanying instruments. There's little warmth or depth to the album, although you could argue its back-to-basics nature is a plus point. Too many albums are overly produced and artificial. Simplify, as the title suggests, gains character from simplistic approach.
On one hand this album isn't my thing, but its retro charms aren't totally lost on me. It is a deeply cool, self-assured release. If you want an album that offers something a little different, an album that nods to rock from the smoky depths of a funk-infused jazz club, this is worth checking out.
Check out... The stripped back vibe. Nice.
Track List:
1. Simplify
2. The Vibe
3. Who You Are
4. Hypnotruth
5. Hiding
6. Bad News
7. Elephant Man
8. Tune In
Artist's website(s): Matthew Curran , MySpace
