The distinctive rich toned, talking-singing vocals of Matt Johnson and band return with their first studio album of new songs for 24 years, with some echoes of those excellent songs of 1983’s Soul Mining period while capturing a current time of disconcerting change. Johnson’s career has centred more on film soundtracks this century, and his voice has always been sometimes of the Vincent Price of rock and pop – a narrator of vivid dystopian stories with a sense of articulate menace and with a fully formed touring band this heralds a strong live show. This album has many clever lines and some strong melodies, with some strong guitar work by co-writer Barrie Cadogan, and also threading through a theme of an era of confusion and insecurity Opener Cognitive Dissident is an extended metaphor about how nothing makes sense anymore, and it’s certainly a bewildering time for many people, especially those of a certain generation: “Every place you thought you belonged/ Everything you thought you knew is wrong,” and there’s an extra irony to this if it’s to be believed that Johnson is among a group of musicians who have espoused some Covid conspiracy theories. There’s also an amusing, if vivid pretension to the song Some Days I Drink My Coffee by the Grave of William Blake, in which we picture Johnson ambling through Bunhill Fields cemetery ruefully acknowledging the shifting city around him, partly perhaps expressing a post-Brexit rift-driven Britain: “The sun hangs low, the church bells toll / The clouds unfold with burning gold / When truth breaks through these city walls / Perfidious Albion must fall.” Other standouts include the swiping apps shallowness of Zen & The Art of Dating, the surely Trump-themed Kissing The Ring of POTUS, the spooky Linoleum Smooth To The Stockinged Foot, and the existential Life is Life: “No one lives forever, no one dies for long / In this hallucination, upside down is the right side of wrong.” Dark but intense and articulate, potently angry yet also a little helpless – perhaps the message should also be, adapt or die. Out on Cineola Limited/ earMusic.
New to comment? It is quick and easy. You just need to login to Disqus once. All is explained in About/FAQs ...
Feel free to recommend more new albums and comment below. You can also use the contact page, or find more on social media: Song Bar Twitter, Song Bar Facebook. Song Bar YouTube, and Song Bar Instagram. Please subscribe, follow and share.
Song Bar is non-profit and is simply about sharing great music. We don’t do clickbait or advertisements. Please make any donation to help keep the Bar running: