Matt Pearce chatted to Pete Feenstra for Get Ready to ROCK! Radio. First broadcast 17 April 2022.

Mutinear Records [Release date 29.04.22]

‘The Soul Food Store’ is an aptly titled project. Matt Pearce digs deep on his sophomore album for a Southern feel, rooted in funk, soul and a bluesy undertow, without losing any of his trademark rock intensity

It’s an old school album forged with contemporary values, full of organic goodness and framed by deep grooves salient hooks and measured guitar playing which always pays due respect to the song.

He’s a rock player in search of a wider remit and he finds a broader canvas via a willingness to explore, experiment and make use of some judicious pre planning, be it guitar tones or added vocal harmonies

He’s also unafraid to revisit the late 90’s for a funk rock fusion, tempered by enough soulful twists and turns to make his music challenging, but still emotionally familiar.

‘The Soul Food Store’ is fuelled by the twin imperatives of good songs and stellar playing, while Matt’s decision to add grainy sax player Steve Beighton to his sonic palette gives the sound real heft.

He opens with the riff driven crunch of ‘Got A Thing Going On’, leading from the front with an animated vocal over a funky back beat and some horn driven gusto.

In sharp contrasts, ‘All The Gods’ opens in blaze of psychedelic tones anchored by Kelpie McKenzie’s pulsing bass and Pearce’s own intricate guitar, as the track moves into a defining mellifluous solo.

And it’s that sense of flow with everything having its pace that glues together an album with enough diversity to keep the casual rock fan interested.

He comes close to Santana on the Latino injected duet of ‘The Promised Land’ and embraces a more subtle Latino tinged groove on the excellent title track.

The latter drops things down to combine Mark Greenfield’s percussion with an acoustic and effective falsetto to make a subliminal connection with Prince. His close to the mic vocal brings extra intensity.

Just under the half way mark, he counts in a bustling rocker ‘From Here To The Moon’, while ‘Never Get Away From Love’ sounds slightly under produced with neither they keys or the slide guitar cutting through.

The emphasis seems to be on his vocal duet with Daliah Sherrington, though he does produce a belated counterweight with a fuzz tone solo that recalls Ernie Isley in the 70’s

It’s still a hugely accessible and busy track with an insistent hook and the sort of crossover feel that gives the album its purchase.

Put simply, Matt Pearce impresses with his stylistic versatility, whether he’s playing stinging riff driven rock or a soulful figure, some exhilarating funk or even giving full reign his gritty vocals which cleverly switch from solo to duet mode over 10 tracks

He applies harmony guitar lines on the funky ‘A Better Way’, a great example of how the lyrics fit the music perfectly: “Don’t try and find it, that feeling inside, just let it ride and show you which way to go.”

He then throws off the shackles with a booming solo before dropping into a handclapped hook.

And just when you think he’s revealed his full hand, he surprises us with a soulful bluesy ballad called ‘Beautiful Disguise’ ,which with a few added bv’s could be doo-wop classic, framed by a subtle string arrangement and resolving guitar solo.

He rounds things off with ‘King Of The World’, a bristling stomp, which belatedly reconfirms his rocking roots.

And as he sings: “Everybody should be king of the world someday” and references: “a force of nature” and: “superman in a tuxedo”, you suspect he’s illustrating the very feel good nature of the album as a whole, before an impressive wall of sound is finally punctuated by a final sax rasp to close an album that deserves wide exposure. ****

Review by Pete Feenstra

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Next session: Sunday 1 December

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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 3 November 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 29 October 2024.

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