Matthew Barber
Ghost Notes
Rating: 4.0
Label: Outside Music
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Canada: What hasn't she brought us? Suffering? Truthfully, I may have a bit of a conflict of interest on my hands here. Being a Canadian living south of the border, I'm probably packing a hefty bias, but at least I've come out and said it. This is one of the few reviews of mine you'll ever read in the grammatical first-person, but Canadian music is a topic so close to my heart that to approach Matthew Barber's album, Ghost Notes, in any other way would be like living a lie. From the Nordic country that brought us Leonard Cohen, Anne Murray, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Arcade Fire, Flock of Seagulls, Snow (the rapper, not the weather condition) and Final Fantasy, here comes one very special Mississauga native. Ever wonder what became of that philosophy major you knew who worked at the on-campus radio station? Today, is he a little known critical theorist, or did he bitterly turn to advertising? Well for my money, here is the best imaginable outcome for the guy: the world needs good, indie folk singer-songwriters. In the name of slow dancing, beers with the brood, romantic mix tapes, road trip sound tracks and summertime BBQ's... World, meet Matthew Barber.
"Easily Bruised" opens a sequence of heartfelt ballads to delight seasoned Jackson Browne fans and pop-loving neophytes alike. While he does drop the names of Canadian provinces, Barber's work humbly pays homage to the neighboring Heartland; how could that good old boys' tone come through any other way? "Have another one one me," he suggests. Well, okay, so long as you keep up with the wholesome drum buildups and angelic vocals. "And You Give" stands out as the most contemporary-sounding piece on the album, chronicling the passage of time in a romantic relationship. For those Pride and Prejudice fetishists out there, the video is worth also viewing. This tune will likely be swept up in the score of some drippy romantic comedy. And I'll review it. And say that it was the bees' knees.
Other stout, trustworthy numbers on Ghost Notes include "I'm Gonna Settle My Accounts With You," with a hail-fellow-well-met horn section, and "You and Me," a minimal strumming embellished with female vocal accompaniment, sober piano, and heartwarming pedal steel guitar. "One Little Piece of My Love" touches lyrically upon the parts of ourselves that we secretly guard from lovers, and its more upbeat, honky tonky guitar contrasts playfully with Barber's desolate message. Catchy insomniac's anthem "Sleep Please Come to Me" recalls the Elliot Smith brand of songwriting, with a heavier does of optimism. As a playful, bluesy, folksy number with all the satisfying transitions and intricacies of its genre, it reminds us once more that Barber's done his homework.
Be that as it may, when he pipes down with "Modern Woman" ("Don't stop chasing your dreams/ But please be kind to your baby...") Barber's intonations can err toward the side of tepid, and the worst symptom of Canadian singer-songwriting emerges: preciousness. "Somebody Sometime" heaps on epithets about loneliness, life, and death, while you can bet on Canuck competitors in the World Figure Skating Championships scoring big in the freestyle category to "Our Voices." Which is another way of saying that it's cheesy. There's a key-change in there worthy of my nation's sappiest gas station advert. And that's where none other but the Colonies will do, Dear America. Without the assertive musical influence of The Boss, Fleetwood Mac, Van Morrison, Hank Williams and Wilco, where would this Snowbird be? Barber is yet another heartening example of two nations siring a hybridic virtuoso.
by Joan Wolkoff