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

Six Kinds Of Passion Looking For An Exit

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» TROY CARPENTER | CO-DIRECTOR

Eric Matthews Six Kinds Of Passion Looking For An Exit Empyrean, 2005 RiYL: Jon Brion, The Left Banke, Howard Jones

Eric Matthews has kinda been the forgotten man in the millenial solo pop entrepreneurial tradition that has made minor celebrities of the likes of Jason Falkner, Jon Brion, Matthew Sweet, Brendan Benson and others. Matthews has all the crucial elements down pat: strong playing capability on most of the classic pop instruments, a recognizable voice, and a developed sense of harmony that he uses to arrange and produce his own material.

The artist garnered critical acclaim and a modest following through Cardinal (his early ‘90s collaboration with Richard Davies) and his two Sub Pop solo albums, It’s Heavy In Here (1995) and The Lateness Of The Hour (1997). But golly, Eric, a good eight years have passed since that last one! “Lateness of the hour,” indeed.

Yet here comes the follow-up, a seven-song set on Empyrean Records. And despite the time lapse, it’s pretty much more of the same. Which is not in any way meant to dissuade. The pretty pop rock songs here don’t break much new ground, but are simply new entrants in a grand tradition that stretches back to Bacharach.

A tune like “Cardinal Is More,” for instance, I could envision fitting into almost any decade of pop music over the past half-century. It would have been given a different harmonic setting in say the ‘80s, naturally, but the lilting hook sticks in one’s head like caramel toffee. A delicate (french?) horn coda adds to the timeless sense.

There’s nothing here to make a listener freak out or start breakdancing (although the electro-beat of “Do You Really Want It?” comes close), but if cocktail pop is your thing, you could do far worse. The main question is, does the disc herald a return of Matthews to making more solo records? He’d probably make more progress toward perfecting his craft if he cut more than a song a year. A reissue of the Cardinal album in May might mean other things on the horizon as well. As usual, time will tell.

TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.