Review: The Matthew Show - February

The Matthew Show – February
2008, Wampus Multimedia

The Matthew Show is the musical alter-ego of Songwriter/Producer Matthew Broyles. Drawing on the misgivings of the first generation in US history to not do as well or better than their parents, Broyles explores the lives of five adults on the cusp of middle age in spoken word and song, delineating the sometimes divergent paths of dreams and reality that have led them to the here and now. The end result is February, a moving and poignant musical experience that is part album and part documentary.

I have to admit, February is one of the more original concept albums I’ve come across. Styx fans might recognize the format from Movement For The Common Man (Styx I), interspersing interviews with music; each illuminating the other. February is about walking the line between dignity and despair; the human tendencies to give in to the latter yet retain hope for the former. Matthew Broyles displays a wickedly incisive sense of humor as the occasional relief or illumination for a murky topic. Half The Man opens the musical portion of February; a tongue-in-cheek bit of self-realization about the loss of dreams. Innocence is a brilliant song that shows some real Pink Floyd influence in the construction.

My personal favorite is Impotent Rage. The song is again, slightly tongue-in-cheek, but deals with the sort of general, undirected and unaccounted for anger that seethes in cities and occasionally ends up on the news with neighbors saying, “he was always such a nice, quiet man…”. February is a snappy little song about the depths of despair, the archetype being the coldest, snowiest month of the winter. Hope seeps through the pores of this song in the abstract, much the way that we know logically that by February we’ve turned the corner on winter and more light is coming, but it’s still cold and snowy and bleak in the moment. The Last Words Of Sigmund Freud is the waltz you knew it had to be, dealing with the tendency to live in dreams what we have lost in reality.

The World Of One Percenters is brilliant songwriting about the human need to be seen. Not seen in the sense of the narcissistic tendencies of the city, but in a human need for confirmation. This is particularly true in a large city like New York, (where the concept album is “based”). In a large city it is easy to lose your own identity when everyone is packed so close together, particularly if you feel like you have no control over your own fate. Connections to other people help to maintain your senses of self and reality in such a place. The World Of One Percenters represents this perfectly in song.

The last song offered here is The Skyline Hotel, a wonderful look at how close the haves and have-nots come in a large city. Often times a hotel may sit on the outer edge of a poor neighborhood in a city. Tourists who stay in the hotel may never know they are staying right on the edge of No Man’s Land, but the residents of that neighborhood see them come and go every day. This song is about watching the privileged come and go right on your doorstep and feeling powerless to escape your surroundings. It is a powerful look at the sociology of neighborhoods and social strata in a large city.

The Matthew Show’s February is an amazing album. This isn’t stuff you’ll hear on the radio, and it’s not written for mass commercial consumption, but it’s some of the most intelligent and powerful rock songwriting you’ll find. The interview snippets help to illuminate the songs with personal viewpoints and experiences. I highly recommend this recording, but be prepared to give some real time listening to February. If you don’t give this one your full attention you won’t get it.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about The Matthew Show at http://www.thematthewshow.com/. You can purchase a copy of February at www.cdbaby.com/cd/mshow.

Review: Dare Dukes - Prettiest Transmitter Of All

Dare Dukes - Prettiest Transmitter Of All
2008, Starland Records

The best performers have at least some musical talent, a voice that is pleasant or interesting to listen to, great material and the ability to inhabit a song, soliloquy or role that transcends the stage or theater and calls us back to life through the performer/character's eyes. Many performers can do one or two of these things, but the transcendence of time and place is a magical talent that can not be taught or learned. Some people have it and the rest spend their lives struggling to figure it out. Meet Dare Dukes, a singer/songwriter based in Savannah, GA who plays and sings with the best of them, writes incredible songs, and brings characters, time and place to life so thoroughly through his songs you might forget even for a few minutes that it's a performance. The only other musician I've ever heard who could capture the brutal beauty of humanity in song in such precise tones is Randy Newman. Dukes' album, Prettiest Transmitter Of All is a series of aural portraits and soliloquys that capture restless souls, lost and misguided moments and the innate beauty and renewal of day to day life. It's stunning.

Prettiest Transmitter Of All opens with the Ballad Of Darius McCollum, a biography of the legendary New York City resident. McCollum, who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, has been arrested numerous times over the years for attempting to steal trains or gain access off-limits portions of the New York City Subway system by posing as an employee or contract. The song depicts a man who loves trains, pure and simple. McCollum had memorized the system by the age of five and has posed as a NYCTA employee on numerous occasions (Interestingly enough the public's experience with McCollum posing as an employee has resulted in a much higher level of rider satisfaction than in dealing with actual NYCTA employees). Dukes has created a daring and apt musical picture that is part ode and part biograph.

Kick + Holler is a gorgeous composition built around acoustic guitar and strings. Lyrically Kick + Holler is a highly intelligent look at the human capacity to react badly to adverse situations. The melody is memorable and the song becomes something greater than the sum of its parts. Sam's Cathedral escaped me somewhat in that I apparently don't enough of the back story to get the context, but the composition here is ingenious. Dukes strips it down to just him and acoustic guitar until about halfway through. The rhythms he creates with just the guitar carry the song.

Lucas Goes To The Demolition Derby is a melancholy composition that is beautifully orchestrated. The title is a bitterly ironic as a metaphor for the inexperience and ineptness of young drivers. Dukes speaks on different levels to different listeners, depending on how deeply you listen. The ability to do just that through any medium is a profound gift, and Dukes uses it to full effect here. Bakersfield has a vaguely Michael Stipe feel to it, although it's not really Dukes' style to sound like anyone other than himself. Bakersfield highlights the human willingness at times to put ourselves into bad situations to recover something we've lost. From A Plane is a pretty little pop confection dressed up in acoustic and electric guitars, flutes and Dukes' enigmatic voice. The album closes with The Equipment Is Fine, a twisted look at people coping day-to-day with the darker aspects of humanity.

Dare Dukes is an abstract painter of human experience using the media of guitar and voice. He's found a voice in which he can frame various aspects of the human condition for others to view/hear. Dukes' viewpoint is perhaps not unique, but unusual enough to captivate the imagination. His ability to couch big ideas in small phrases and metaphors makes for a highly entertaining and thoughtful listen. His musical compositions are complex and unique and entirely fitting to the subject matter at hand. Prettiest Transmitter Of All is the output of a true American Primitive artist. His genius isn't so much in technique or in history but in the ability to tell you stories you already know from a perspective you've never considered. The fact that he does it so well is a bonus. Prettiest Transmitter Of All is a Certified Wildy's World Desert Island Disc. This is a unique and unusual gem folks. Don't pass it by.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Dare Dukes at http://www.daredukes.com/ or www.myspace.com/daredukes. You can pick up a copy of Prettiest Transmitter Of All at www.cdbaby.com/cd/daredukes, or you can download it from iTunes.