Albums by this artist

Six Kinds Of Passion Looking For An Exit (2005)

The Lateness Of The Hour (1997)

It's Heavy In Here (1995)

Eric Matthews

The Lateness Of The Hour

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» JONATHAN COHEN | SENIOR EDITOR

Eric Matthews The Lateness Of The Hour Sub Pop, 1997 RiYL: The Grays/Jason Falkner, Cardinal, Jellyfish, orchestral Beatles, Nick Drake

Eric Matthews' decidedly retro orchestral pop maneuvers earned him critical acclaim as one half of Cardinal. Three years after the band's demise and one solo album later (It's Heavy In Here), Matthews trotted out The Lateness Of The Hour, a beguiling record that epitomizes the post-grunge evolution of Sub Pop Records, the label on which it was released.

Drawing from influences yanked out of mom and dad's record collection (namely: Burt Bacharach and Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys) and crafting beautiful, orchestral pop songs as far removed from Sub Pop grunge as Neil Diamond, Matthews shrugs off modern precedents like a bad habit.

True, not much here differs drastically from 1995's Heavy, although the presence of the 14-piece 451 Orchestra (Matthews was classically trained as a trumpet player) is felt slightly less. Still, these characteristically unrock instruments brush a layer of sophistication over the music. When topped with Matthews' husky, smooth voice, the songs become irresistible.

Lateness trots out alluring pop in droves, from the first strums of "Ideas That Died That Day." "The Pleasant Kind" burns with subdued hooks from guitars that seem ready to bust loose but remain snappy anyhow.

"Since The Wheel Free" and "Everything So Real" compare favorably to The Grays (ex-Gray Jason Falkner guests on the majority of the album) with sad melodies, ambiguous lyrics and lush, polished choruses. Elsewhere, the minute-and-a-half "Festival Fun" erases all things modern in favor of string accompaniment that brings to mind names like Sinatra or even Nat King Cole.

String, trumpet and harpsichord accompaniment can only benefit songwriting as precise and clever as Matthews'. Indeed, The Lateness Of The Hour is a wellspring of satisfying, intelligent pop as elegant as the influences from whom Matthews derives inspiration.

JONATHAN COHEN | Jonathan Cohen co-created Nude As The News with his Indiana University mates Troy Carpenter and Ben French. When not traversing the globe for business and pleasure, he holds down the fort as a senior editor for Billboard in New York. Stop him and he just may ask, "what for lunch?"