Graham Reid | | 1 min read
Holy Smoke
Recorded live in the studio (Darren Watson's Lamington Recording aka his lounge in Pōneke Wellington), this collection of crafted songs with their feet and heart in country-folk and Americana comes with a lived-in intimacy.
And behind singer-songwriter Matt Hay are slide guitar (Watson), accordion (Craig Denham), double bass (Steve Moodie) and percussion (Delia Shanly).
There's a terrific slice of cajun-influenced pop-cum-doo wop on Promised Land which cleverly manages to allude to both but hits a point where it's both and neither. Holy Smoke is its more upbeat cousin who has dropped by bringing the Jordanaires.
Your Love is All I Need subtly suggests tropical breezes and an afternoon on Jimmy Buffett's boat and Lonesome Kind finds him heading off on the road at a slow walk carrying a simple melody which is both immediately familiar and affecting.
Hay's gift -- beyond his obvious songwriting chops -- is a voice which is strong but never assertive, laidback but never lazy, expressive but not straining for effect.
Close to Guy Clark and John Prine's understatement (Two Words) and refined lyrics, Hay's songs and style are immediately appealing for their clarity, observational nature and a certain wry honesty.
Underplaying is his ace: “All I know is what I see in your faraway eyes” on the melancholy Faraway Eyes and “my body's aching/my life is fading” on Need You Now.
When he obliquely sings of politics (“smoke and mirrors, truth and lies”) on the title track he avoids specifics which would lock the song in time and space. Rather he relies on broader imagery – “the man on the box at night blowin' smoke just to give us a fright” – to conclude in quiet resignation you just “close your eyes as they kiss you goodnight”.
This is Matt Hay's fourth album and if you haven't heard of him before – and we'll admit we hadn't – then you'll doubtless be driven to hear more at his bandcamp page.
Eight songs, and not a word or note surplus to requirements.
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You can hear and buy this album at bandcamp here
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