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Self Release [Release date 28.03.13]
The Matt Woosey Band’s ‘On The Wagon’ (geddit?) has far more substance than the album title suggests and is a sparkling advert for roots rock.
The West Midland’s guitarist may pen blues derivative songs, but they are never smothered by the genre. Matt uses his blues roots as launch pad for rhythmically compelling acoustic songs, which are propelled by an insistent percussive feel and topped by interesting lyrics.
Matt’s strength lies in the way he transforms the past into the present. He tops and tails the album with the opening Dobro led ‘Black Smoke Rising’ and the down to the bone ‘Dopey Mick’. The recycled classic blues lyrics are re-invigorated by his effervescent guitar playing. Whether playing slide, finger picking, bone hard rhythms, or telling electric bursts, Woosey knows the value of dynamics.
Matt Woosey is a breath of fresh air in an era where most singer song-writers are one step away from bed-sit depression. His intense playing is full of sharp contrasting tempos, tones and melodies, and his vocals are as impassioned as his phrasing is expansive. Above all, he’s an artist who understands the essential interrelationship between his songs and their musical delivery.
‘Cruel Disposition’ makes the most of a mid-number guitar break and chiming guitar lines and he brings real presence to bear on ‘Don’t Need Money’. The latter is anchored by a John Martyn percussive feel and an emotive Tim Buckley meets Van Morrison style vocal. His playing is rock solid throughout and his voice seeks out every facet of emotion the lyrics offer him.
Matt has the style and class to pull it off, whether via the accentuated phrasing on the last verse of ‘Elsie May’ or the gentle changes of the beautifully nuanced love song ‘Find A Way’.
The key to Matt’s broad musical vista lies in his expressive guitar figures which cleverly mirror lyrical meaning, while the delightful acoustic wash of songs like ‘Find A Way’ brings an uplifting feel.
Matt is a musical sculptor who starts from blues base and works his way round a musical arc that comes to rest in acoustic roots music. Listen for example, to the hypnotic feel of ‘Jealous Man’ and the folk influenced love song, ‘She Just Called’, which recalls Harry Chapin at his best. The fleeting extra layer of gently distorted electric guitar is the equivalent of a painter’s brush stroke.
And just when you think he’s revealed all his hand, he pops up with the slide led boogie of ‘That’s My Baby’. Then there’s ‘Woke Up This Morning’, which in anyone else’s hands might have you reaching for the forward button, but he nails it with some indomitable slide within a trio format.
You don’t need a drink to listen to ‘On the Wagon’, just immerse yourself in the subtle grooves, intricate playing and let Matt’s emotive vocal quaver wash over you and let the music do the rest. ***** (5/5)
Review by Pete Feenstra
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