ALBUM OF THE WEEK: MATTHEW RYAN

by Chris Hammond

SquareOne Entertainment

Matthew Ryan VS The Silver State (One Little Indian)

Pitching up with his latest effort singer songwriter Matthew Ryan looks to have put together the album which will see him break through to the big time.

Having consistently constructed some of the most well crafted, clever folk-rock songs of the past decade, Ryan has still somehow managed to fly in under the radar at every opportunity here in the UK. And it would be a travesty if things were to repeat themselves and someone with this level of talent was to remain largely unrecognised by press and public alike.

So what’s the deal?

The best way of describing Matthew Ryan’s general style would be to think of Nebraska era Bruce Springsteen (only better) crossed with the best work of Ryan Adams (only better) with a little bit of The Waterboys circa Fishermans Blues thrown in for good measure (only better).

So with this in mind you’ll be expecting an album crammed with impressive tuneage from start to finish. You won’t be disappointed. From the husky grandeur of American Dirt to the poignantly profound It Could’ve Been Worse there is not a second of filler on this lyrically rich, emotionally charged, musically superior eleven track masterpiece.

It’s brilliant. Absolutely, euphorically, unbelievable brilliant and it deserves to be heard by every single man women and child on the planet. Album of the week? Might even be album of the year, or the past two years or even the last five. I don’t know yet, but the more I listen to it the more I am convinced this is a true work of musical genius.

Right that’s me off for a cold shower and a lie down . . .

ALBUM OF THE WEEK: LOWGOLD

by Chris Hammond

SquareOne Entertainment

Lowgold – Promise Lands (Cooking Vinyl)

Ah, the UK indie scene! There’s the monolithic mediocrity of Coldplay, the unbelievably past-it Oasis, the literally vile Razorlight and the walking get-out-of-jail-free card known as Peter Doherty. But wait, it seems that the perennially overlooked Lowgold could be set to mount a takeover.

Excited yet? Well you would be if you heard Promise Lands stand-out track Just Like A Sin because its gobsmackingly tasty. Principally, this is because Lowgold sound nothing like their yawnsome, skinny jeaned, anti-war, fruit-loving indie peers and elders.

Mixing forlorn anthems with low-fi slow burners might not be a musical eureka moment, but the band do it so well you’ll be hard pushed not to utilise the repeat button on your CD players remote for the best part of a week. Promise Land comes highly recommended.