keepers 5
keeper avg .357
Matthews debut solo album gained some attention due to its bold, appropriately-named lead-off track "Fanfare"****, though I didn't hear it until way after the fact. From the first trumpet blast it's a different game from what bands were playing in the years of grunge music's dominance. Some elements were appearing in music of the era, such as the fifth-interval harmonies (such as "Distant Mother Reality" and "Sincere Sensation"), which give some tracks a chanting quality, and clean, chiming guitar progressions, which sound very similar to what Stone Temple Pilots' power-pop Tiny Music album. "Soul Nation Select Them" is especially eerie, in keeping with the times, though Matthews breathy delivery comes from a different kind of music.
Another difference is the limited use of guitar leads, as leads are instead provided by trumpets, or a wind section as on "Angels For Crime". The atmospheric, keyboard-driven "Poisons Will Pass Me"**** (organ) and "Fried Out Broken Girl"**** (piano) go into Badly Drawn Boy or Elliot Smith territory, as "Distant Mother Reality"**** and "Flight And Lion" do with guitar. "Lust Takes Time"**** uses simple chords to interesting effect, especially during the breakdown, and "Hop And Tickle" is conventional indie rock, except for a very Dan DeLeo (STP) slide guitar lead. It's wrong to discount any track, as almost all do something unexpected with elements used by other more familiar artists, as the closing "Fanfare (Reprise)" demonstrates; this stripped-down version of the opening track benefits from the acoustic treatment and reveals the hidden complexity of the original.
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